
Class j)£i-£- 
Book i'^ qSL 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



* 



YOUNG FOLKS 



istory of Greece and Rome 



Used in 7B Grad 



CT 



Indianapolis Public Schools 




COMPUED BY 

ELIZABETH J, COTTON 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. Copyright No._____„. 

Shelf. 



UNITED STATES' OF AMERICA. 



YOUNG FOLKS' 
HISTORY OF GREECE AND ROME 



YOUNG FOLKS' 



HISTORY OF GREECE AND ROME 



USED IN 7B GRADE 
INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



COMPILED BY 



ELIZABETH J. COTTON 



*& 



INDIANAPOLIS 

THE BOWEN-MERRILL CO. 
1898 






14331 



Copyright 1898 

by 

Elizabeth J. Cotton 




CEIVEO. 
189 



Uo Ueacbers 

This work is intended to furnish materials 
for the foundation of the study of the history 
of Greece and Rome, and references for more 
extended reading^^**^*^*^^^^*^ 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE. 

Physical Greece. — Ancient Greece, or Hell'as, was the 
country of the Helle nes. It was not restricted to the 
neninsula south of the Cambu nian Mountains and the 
adjacent islands, but wherever the Hellenes settled, there 
was Hellas. Even the Hellenic colonies in Asia Minor, 
Italy, and the isles of the iEge'an and Mediterranean, 
were styled "patches of Hellas." Taken as a whole, 
Hellas was about the size of the state of Maine. 

Greece, the peninsula, is separated by abrupt moun- 
tain walls into a number of isolated districts, each of 
which in ancient times became a state. Each valley de- 
veloped its own peculiar life, hence the fragmentary 
character of its political history. The Hellenic states 
never coalesced to form a single nation. 

" The peninsula is, by reason of deep arms and bays 
of the sea, converted into what is in effect an archipel- 
ago. No spot in Greece is forty miles from the sea. 
Hence its people were easily tempted to a sea-faring life. 
The islands, strewn with seeming carelessness through 
the iEgean Sea, were 'stepping-stones' which invited the 
earliest settlers of Greece to the delightful coast country 

(3) 



of Asia Minor, and thus blended the life of the opposite 
shores. Intercourse with the old civilization of Egypt 
and Phoenicia stirred the naturally quick and versatile 
Greek intellect to early and vigorous thought." 

Again, the beauty of Grecian scenery, of the blue skies, 
laughing rills, rugged mountains, and blue Mediterra- 
nean, inspired many of the most striking passages of her 
poets, making the Greeks a nation of artists. "The 
scenery of Greece was in direct contrast to the tame feat- 
ures of the Nile and Euphrates." The germs of culture 
transmitted to the West from the East would have lain 
dormant, or have developed into less perfect forms, with- 
out the quickening power of the Greek genius. " It was 
a case of good seed falling into good ground, and it 
brought forth a hundred fold." — Compiled from Myers. 

The Hellenes.— There were four tribes— Ionian, Dor- 
ian, Achaean andiEolian — dwelling in these.little states, 
and, though they often quarreled among themselves, yet 
they claimed to be members of a single family; all were 
descended, according to their fabled genealogy, from the 
common progenitor, Hellen, the son of Deucalion, the 
Grecian Noah. All those nations whose speech they did 
not understand they called " barbarians." Through the 
testimony of language, we do know that the Hellenes be- 
longed to the great Aryan family; but their ancestors 
and those of the Romans, after they had separated from 
the other Aryan peoples, lived together a considerable 
time before they parted company. Some think the home 
where they lived as an undivided family was Phrygia 
in the northwest corner of Asia Minor, and that from 
that station successive bands of emigrants gradually 



5, 

spread themselves over Greece and the shores and islands 
of the iEgean. — Compiled from Myers. 

Oriental Immigrants. — According to their own tradi- 
tion they are indebted to Oriental immigrants for the 
introduction of the arts and culture of the East. 

From Egypt, legend affirms, came an Egyptian colony, 
bringing with it the arts, learning, and priestly wisdom 
of the Nile valley. Ce'crops, the leader of the colony, 
is said to have founded Athens in 1556 B. C, and placed 
it under the protection of an Egyptian goddess, whose 
Greek name was Athena. "From the same land 
Dan'aus is also said to have come with his fifty daughters 
and to have built the city of Argos. (See Miss Yo7ige , s 
Young Folks' History of Greece.) From Phoenicia, Cad- 
mus brought the letters of the alphabet and founded the 
city of Thebes." — Compiled from Myers. 

(Read stories of Euro'pa and Cadmus in "Little Ar- 
thur's History of Rome.") 

About 1350 B. C, Pelops, the son of a king of Phry- 
gia, a country in Asia Minor, settled in that part of 
Greece which was afterwards called, for him, Pelopon- 
nesus. There he married tire daughter of one of the 
native princes, whom he succeeded to the throne. Aga- 
memnon and Menelaus, heroes of the Trojan War, were 
descended from this Phrygian adventurer. — Compiled 
from S. G. Goodrich. ' ' 



THE HEROIC AGE. 

The Heroes. — "The Greeks believed that their ances- 
tors were heroes of divine or semi-divine lineage. Every 



6 

tribe, district, city, and village, even, preserved tradi- 
tions of its heroes, whose wonderful exploits were com- 
memorated in song and story. Among the most noted 
of the heroes are Hercules, Theseus, king of Athens, and 
Minos, king of Crete." — Myers. 

(Read Francillon's " Gods and Heroes," Charlotte 
Yonge's "Young Folks' History of Greece," "Greek 
Stories," by Guerber, Church's "Stories of Homer," 
Kingsley's "Greek Heroes.") 

"Hercules, a Theban prince, was another of the de- 
scendants of Pelops. The numerous and extraordinary 
feats of strength and valor of Hercules excited the admi- 
ration of his contemporaries, and, being afterwards exag- 
gerated and embellished by the poets, caused him at 
length to be regarded as a person endowed with super- 
natural powers, and even to be worshiped as a god. 

"According to the poets, Hercules was the son of the 
god Jupiter, and of Alcmena, daughter of the king of 
Mycenas. His mother married Amphitryon, king of 
Thebes, by whom the infant Hercules was adopted as 
his son. While yet a child in the cradle, he is fabled 
to have crushed to death two snakes which the goddess 
Juno had sent to destroy him. After he grew up he 
performed many heroic and extraordinary actions, com- 
monly called 'labors.' Among these was the destruc- 
tion of a dreadful lion, by clasping his arms around its 
neck and thus choking it to death. 

"Another of the fabled labors of Hercules was his de- 
stroying the hydra of Lerna. This was a monstrous 
seven-headed serpent, which haunted the small lake of 
Lerna in Argolis, and filled with terror the inhabitants 



7 - 

of the whole of that part of the country. Hercules 
dauntlessly. attacked it, and struck off several of its heads 
with his club. But these wonderful heads were no 
sooner beaten off than others grew out, so that it seemed 
an impossibility to kill a monster whose injuries were so 
quickly repaired. At last, one of the companions of 
Hercules having, at the hero's request, seared with a 
hot iron the necks o£ the hydra as fast as each decapita- 
tion was accomplished, it was found that the heads did 
not afterwards grow out again, and Hercules was thus 
enabled to complete the destruction of the reptile." — S. 
G. Goodrich. 

(See Niebuhr and Miss Yonge.) 

Argonautic Expedition. — ' ' During the life-time of Her- 
cules, 1263 B. C, Jason, a prince of Thessaly, made a 
voyage to Colchis, a country on the eastern side of the 
Euxine or Black Sea. His enterprise was afterwards 
greatly celebrated under the name of the Argonautic Ex- 
pedition, from Argo, the vessel in which he sailed. This 
ship is generally referred to by the ancients as the first 
that ever ventured on a long voyage. It is uncertain 
what was the real object of the expedition, although it 
seems probable that, as Colchis was rich in mines of gold 
and silver, Jason and his companions, among whom 
were Hercules and several other persons of distinction, 
were actuated by a desire to rob the country of some of 
its valuable metals. The poets, however, tell us a dif- 
ferent story. Phryxus and Helle, the son and daughter 
of Athamas, king of Thebes, being compelled, according 
to the poetic account, to quit their native country to 
avoid the cruelty of their step-mother, mounted on the 



8 

back of a winged ram with a fleece of- gold, and were 
carried by this wonderful animal through the air to- 
wards Colchis, where an uncle of theirs, named iEetes, 
was king. Unfortunately, as they were passing over the 
strait now called Dardanelles, which connected the iEge- 
an Sea with the Propontis, or Sea of Marmora, Helle 
became giddy, and, falling into the water, was drowned. 
From her, says the fable, the strait was in future named 
the Hellespont, or Sea of Helle. 

"When Phryxus arrived in Colchis, he sacrificed his 
winged ram to Jupiter, in acknowledgment of the divine 
protection, and deposited its golden fleece in the same 
deity's temple. He then married the daughter of iEetes, 
but was afterwards murdered by that king, who wished 
to obtain possession of the golden fleece. To avenge 
Phryxus's death, Jason, who was his relation, undertook 
the expedition to Colchis, where, after performing sev- 
eral marvelous exploits, he not only obtained the golden 
fleece, but persuaded Medea, another daughter of King 
iEetes, to become his wife, and to accompany him back 
to Greece." — S. G. Goodrich. 

Theseus. — " In the year 1234 B. C, Theseus came to 
the throne of Athens. He was one of the most renowned 
characters in the heroic age of Greece, not only on ac- 
count of his warlike achievements, but from his politi- 
cal wisdom." — S, G. Goodrich. 

('See Bulfinch and Francillon.) 

Homer. — The real history of Greece does not begin 
before the eighth century B. C. All that lies back of 
that belongs to the mythical or Heroic Age. Toward 
the close of the Heroic Age there were a great many 



9 - 

songs and verses composed, telling of the gods and he- 
roes. Singers and poets were entertained by the kings, 
and welcomed by all, as they chanted to the harp or the 
lyre the stories of the great forefathers of their hosts. 
Their favorite themes were the exploits of those heroes 
whose adventures have been familiar in each succeeding 
age to the youth of every civilized land, namely: "The 
Twelve Labors of Hercules , " " The Argonautic Expedition 
in Search of the Golden Fleece/' the "Hunt of the 
Calydonian Boar," and the " Siege of Troy." 

The greatest of these singers was the blind poet Ho- 
mer, whose songs of the wrath of Achilles and the wan- 
derings of Ulysses were loved and learned by every one. 
"According to tradition, Homer was a schoolmaster 
of Asia Minor, living in the 9th or 10th century, B. C. 
Becoming weary of confinement he traveled widely, be- 
came blind, but still wandered, singing his verses which 
were to become immortal. Notwithstanding the verdict 
of late authorities who consider the "Iliad' and 
" Odyssey " to have been formed out of the fragmentary 
verses of many bards, it is probable that the poems will 
always be known as Homer's " Iliad " and " Odyssey." 
His fame among his countrymen is attested by the well- 
known Greek epigram which reads : — 

" 'Several rival towns contend for Homer dead, 

Through which the living Homer begged his bread.' " 

— Compiled from Miss Yonge. 

(Read Brook's Story of "Iliad" and "Odyssey," 
Lamb's "Adventures of Ulysses." 



10 



RELIGION OF THE GREEKS. 

Gods and Goddesses. — The Greeks were not trained in 
the knowledge of God like the Israelites, but originated 
a religion for themselves. They made wonderful stories 
of the powers of nature, the sky, sun, moon, stars, and 
clouds, as if they were gods. They thought there were 
twelve greater gods and goddesses who lived on Mount 
Olympus and ruled the affairs of mortals. 

Zeus, or Jupiter, the son of Saturn, was the chief of 
them all, and the ruler of earth and heaven. 

Neptune, or Poseidon, was the Lord of the ocean (that 
is, the Mediterranean). Pluto, or Hades, was the lord 
of the world of the spirits of the dead. "Jupiter was 
always thought of by the Greeks as a majestic-looking 
man, with thick hair and beard, and with lightnings in 
his hand and an eagle by his side. The lightnings were 
forged by his crooked son Vulcan, the god of fire, whose 
smithies were in the volcanoes (so-called from his name), 
and whose workmen were the Cyclops, or Round Eyes — 
giants, each with one eye in the center of his forehead." 
— Charlotte Yonge. 

Athena. — " Once when Jupiter was hard-pressed by 
the Titans, a horrible race of giants, a dreadful pain in 
his head caused him to bid Vulcan strike it with his 
hammer. Then out darted Heavenly Wisdom, his beau- 
tiful daughter, Pallas Athena, or Minerva, fully armed. 
By her counsels he cast down the Titans and heaped 
their own mountains, Etna, Ossa, and Pelion, upon them. 
Whenever there was an earthquake, it was thought to be 
one of these giants struggling to be free. Pallas was 



11> 

also goddess of all woman's works, of spinning, weaving, 
and sewing." — Charlotte Yonge. 

Juno was Jupiter's wife, the queen of the heavens. 

(See stories of Gods and Goddesses. Bulfinch, Fran- 
cillon and Cox. ) 

"Mercury, or Hermes, really meant the morning 
breeze. The story was told that he was born early in 
the morning in a cave, and,' after he had slept a little 
while in his cradle, he came forth, and, finding the 
skull of a tortoise with the strings of the inwards 
stretched across it, he at once began to play, and formed 
the first lyre. He was so swift that he was the Messen- 
ger of Jupiter, and he is always represented with wings 
on his cap and sandals; but, as the wind not only makes 
music but blows things away unawares, so Mercury came 
to be viewed as the god of thieves." — Charlotte Yonge. 

Iris. — Another messenger of the gods, belonging 
chiefly to Juno, was Iris, the rainbow, a recollection of 
the bow in the clouds. 

Apollo and Diana. — The god and goddess of light were 
the glorious twin brother and sister Phoebus Apollo, the 
lord of the day, and Diana, queen of the night. The 
beams or rays of light were their arrows, and so Diana 
was a huntress, always in the woods with her nymphs. 
The moon belongs to Diana, and is her car, the sun in like 
manner to Apollo. "In the far East the lady Dawn, 
Aurora or Eos, opened the gates with her rosy fingers, 
and out came the golden car of the sun, with glorious 
white horses driven by Apollo, attended by the Hours 
strewing dew and flowers. It passed over the arch of 
the heavens to the ocean again on the west, and there 



12 

Aurora met it again in fair colors, took out the horses 
and let them feed." 

Phaeton. — Apollo had a son, named Phaeton, who 
once begged to be allowed to drive the chariot of the sun 
for just one day: "Apollo yielded, but poor Phaeton 
had no strength or skill to guide the horses in the right 
curve. At one moment they rushed to the earth and 
scorched the trees; at another they flew up to heaven, 
and would have burned Olympus had- not Jupiter cast 
his thunderbolt at the rash driver and hurled him down 
into a river, where he was drowned. His sisters wept 
till they were changed into poplar trees, and their tears 
hardened into amber drops." — Compiled from 31iss 
Yonge. 

Muses. — "Mercury gave his lyre to Apollo, who was 
the true god of music and poetry, and under him were 
nine nymphs — the Muses, daughters of. memory — who 
dwelt on Mt. Parnassus, and were thought to inspire all 
noble and heroic song, all poems in praise of the gods 
and brave men." — Compiled from Miss Yonge. 

Venus was the goddess of beauty. " She was said to 
have risen out of the sea, as the sunshine touched the 
waves, with her golden hair dripping with spray. Her 
favorite home was in myrtle groves, where she drove her 
car, drawn by doves, attended by the Graces, and by 
multitudes of little winged children called Loves; but 
there was generally said to be one special son of hers, 
called Love — Cupid in Latin, Eros in Greek, — whose ar- 
rows when tipped with gold made people fall in love, and 
when tipped with lead made them hate one another. 
Her husband was the ugly, crooked smith, Vulcan, — 



perhaps because pretty ornaments came of the hard work 
of the smith; but she never behaved well to him, only 
coaxed him when she wanted something his clever hands 
could make. She was very fond of amusing herself with 
Mars (Ares), the god of war; another of the evil gods, 
for he was fierce, cruel, and violent. Where he went 
slaughter and blood were sure to follow him and his hor- 
rid daughter Bellona. His star was 'the red planet 
Mars,' but Venus had the beautiful clear one, which is 
the morning or evening star/' — Miss Yonge. 

"Ceres was the grave, motherly goddess of corn and all 
the fruits of the earth. Persephone, her daughter, was 
the flowers and fruit."— Miss Yonge. 

(See Cox's story of Demeter.) 

Vulcan, Hebe, and Ganymede. — "The twelve greater 
gods and goddesses had palaces on Olympus, and met 
every day in Jupiter's court to feast on ambrosia, a food 
of life which made them immortal. Their drink was 
nectar, which was poured into their golden cups at fir^i 
by Vulcan, but he stumbled and hobbled so with his 
lame leg that they chose, instead, the fresh and graceful 
Hebe, the goddess of youth, till she was careless, and 
one day fell down, cup, nectar, and all. The gods 
thought they must find another cup-bearer, and, looking 
down, they saw a beautiful youth, Ganymede, watching 
his flocks upon Mt. Ida, so they sent Jupiter's eagle 
down to fly away with him and bring him to Mt. Olym- 
pus. They gave him some ambrosia to make him im- 
mortal and establish him as their cup-bearer. The gods 
were also thought to feed on the smoke and smell of sac- 
rifices people offered up to them on earth, and to favor 



14 

those mortals who offered them most sacrifices of ani- 
mals and incense." — Miss Yonge. 

Early Civilization. — "The poems of Homer furnish us 
with a pretty accurate picture of the political state of 
Greece at the time of the Trojan War. Sparta and My- 
cenae appear to have been the most powerful states; they 
were both governed by princes of the Pelopid race, which 
had just arrived at the height of its power. The differ- 
ent tribes were ruled by hereditary chieftains, who com- 
bined the offices of leader in war and judge in peace ; 
but the authority possessed by the rulers does not appear 
to have been despotic. 

"The people dwelt in cities, but still were chiefly en- 
gaged in cultivating the land and tending cattle ; com- 
merce, however, had not been neglected, and the art of 
navigation was rapidly advancing, especially among the 
Greeks on the eastern coast. 

"After a protracted siege of ten years, Troy fell; but 
the captors had no great reason to rejoice in their suc- 
cess ; some of their bravest warriors had fallen in the 
contest, others perished in the voyage home; the greater 
part of the remainder found, at their return, strangers 
in possession of their throne, and either fell beneath the 
daggers of the usurpers or were compelled to seek new 
homes in a foreign land. But to Greece in general 
this war produced at least one beneficial result : it kin- 
dled one common national spirit, a spirit which, in spite 
of feuds and dissensions, was never wholly extinguished. 
From the time of the Trojan war downwards, the Hellenes 
looked upon themselves as constituting one people. " — 
Dr. Goldsmith. 



15 - 

Dorian Migration. — About 1104 B. C, the Dorians, 
who had been dwelling in the barren mountain region 
of the north of Greece, sought new homes in the fertile 
valleys of the Peloponnesus. They are said to have been 
led by the Heracleidse, the descendants of Hercules, who 
had been driven out of the Peloponnesus by the family 
of Pelops. The invaders were everywhere successful, 
conquering the Achseans and occupying the cities of Ar- 
gos, Corinth and Sparta. 

"Colonization. — "A part of the Achaeans fled north- 
ward, dispossessing the Ionians, who crossed the iEgean 
to Asia Minor." "Here and on the adjacent islands 
they founded settlements, which grew into cities. Among 
these cities was Ephesus, renowned for its temple of Di- 
ana, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world." 

"North of the Ionians, iEolian emigrants established 
twelve towns, while the Dorians themselves settled the 
southern coast and the adjacent island of Rhodes. 
Rhodes was celebrated for its Colossus, an immense im- 
age of Apollo, so placed as to bestride the entrance to 
the harbor. The Colossus was over one hundred feet 
high, and its thumb was so large that a man could not 
clasp it with his arms. When, after lying on the ground 
for centuries, it was removed, the metal that composed it 
loaded nine hundred camels. 

"The Greeks also peopled the shores of the Euxine 
(Black Sea). They founded Byzantium (the modern 
Constantinople) in the east, Massilia (Marseilles) in the 
far west, and the rich Cyrene on the coast of Africa. 
Many Greek colonies were planted in lower Italy and 
Sicily, which received the name of Magna Grascia 



16 

(Mag'naGre'-shea, Great Greece). The most important 
of these were the luxurious Tarentum in south Italy, 
and Syracuse on the island of Sicily." — Quackenbos. 

Had it not been for the power of Carthage, a Phoeni- 
cian city, the Greeks would have secured nearly the en- 
tire shore and transformed the Mediterranean into a 
" Grecian lake." 

Wherever the Greek went he retained his individuality. 
The Hellenic language, manners and civilization were 
introduced by him into barbarian lands. The colonies 
seemed to gain a new impulse of life and progressed more 
rapidly than the mother country. 

The Asiatic Greeks rapidly increased both in. wealth 
and intelligence, while the history of the parent states 
in this early age exhibited nothing but a succession of 
petty wars. " In all the states except Epirus, hereditary 
royalty was abolished and a republican form of govern- 
ment adopted, which impressed upon the people a love 
of political freedom. 

" Even at this early age, we find that Sparta was con- 
sidered the chief of the Dorian, and Athens of the Ion- 
ian states. "— Dr. Goldsmith. 

Sparta. — "After the subjugation of Laconia, the peo- 
ple were divided into three classes: The Dorian con- 
querors, who became known as Spartans, and alone 
enjoyed political privileges; the Achseans or free inhabi- 
tants of the rural districts, who were allowed by the 
Spartans to occupy the worst of the lands, and to engage 
in commerce or the trades; and the Helots, consisting of 
captives and rebels reduced to slavery. The Helots were 
employed in agricultural pursuits, and treated with great 
brutality. They could even be put to death when they 



17. 

became so numerous as to appear dangerous to the state. " 
— Quackenbos. 

Lacedsemon, called also Sparta from its grain fields 
( sown land ) , was the Spartan camp . ' ' The name Sparta 
was strictly applicable only to the citadel erected on a 
hill in the center of the city. Lacedsemon was a com- 
mon name for the residences of the five Laconian tribes 
which were erected round the citadel. It was one of 
the largest cities in Greece, but being built in a strag- 
gling manner, was not so populous as several others. 
As the Spartans professed to despise the fine arts, their 
city did not contain any edifice of importance. There is 
nothing in the situation of Lacedsemon which would 
lead us to anticipate the eminence at which it arrived. 
The river Eurotas, on whose banks it stood, was cele- 
brated for the clearness and salubrity of its waters, but 
it was not a navigable stream, and afforded no facilities 
for commerce. The fame of Sparta was owing to its po- 
litical institutions, and not to its geographical position. " 
— Dr. Goldsmith. 

In this city the Spartans (only nine thousand strong 
in the time of Lycurgus) lived in the midst of a hostile 
population, "like soldiers on guard." 

Government. — " Sparta was in the beginning ruled by 
kings, but under the Heraclei'dse two kings governed 
with equal authority. This change is said to have been 
owing to the following circumstance.: One of the kings 
had twin sons so very much alike that it was hardly pos- 
sible to distinguish one from the other. The mother, 
equally attached to both, was desirous of advancing both 



18 

to the throne. The people therefore invested both with 
sovereign power, and this form of government continued 
to exist for centuries. 

" It was during this latter period that the Helots, or 
peasants of Sparta, were enslaved; for these people, hav- 
ing taken up arms in order to vindicate their right to 
the same privileges as the citizens enjoyed, were, after a 
violent struggle, subdued. To prevent the repetition of 
these and like disorders, to which this little state was 
subject, Lycurgus instituted his celebrated body of laws, 
which continued for a long time to render Lacedsemon 
at once the terror and the umpire of the neighboring 
kingdoms." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Lycurgus. — In the ninth century B. C, Lycurgus, a 
member of the royal family, after carefully studying the 
laws of foreign countries, framed for his own the consti- 
tution which now bears his name. "He- traveled into 
Crete and afterwards into Asia, where he is said to have 
discovered the works of Homer. Thence he went into 
Egypt, and having made himself acquainted with the 
customs and institutions of the various countries through 
which he passed, he at length returned home." 

Lycurgus retained the double monarchy but limited 
its power. Their authority was considerably diminished 
by a Senate and the Court of the Eph'ori, consisting of 
five members only, chosen annually from among the peo- 
ple. These had the power to arrest and imprison even 
the persons of their kings, if they acted in a manner un- 
becoming their station. 

" In order to reconcile the people to a government in 
which they had no real share, Lycurgus adopted two ex- 



19- 

p.edients. These were, to divide all the lands of the state 
equally among the citizens and to abolish the use of 
money. The latter he accomplished by ordering that 
nothing but iron money should pass in exchange for any 
commodity. This coin, also, he made so heavy, and 
fixed at so low a rate, that a cart and two oxen were re- 
quired to carry home a sum of twenty pounds sterling." 

"To enforce the practice of temperance and sobriety, 
Lycurgus ordained that all the men should eat together 
in one common hall. Every one was obliged to send 
thither his provisions monthly, consisting of one bushel 
of flour, eight measures of wine, five pounds of cheese 
and two pounds and one-half of figs. Black broth was 
their favorite dish." Agis, a man of high rank, hav- 
ing returned from a successful expedition, ventured to 
send for his broth that he might partake of his meal at 
home with his wife. For this foolish show of sentiment 
he was punished by a heavy fine. — Dr. Goldsmith. 

The Spartan Boy. — ' ' To accustom the youth to early 
habits of discipline and obedience, Lycurgus took their 
education out of the hands of the parents and committed 
it to masters appointed by the state. 

"So desirous was he of having a hardy and robust 
race of citizens, that such children as were born with 
any capital defect were not suffered to be brought up, 
but were exposed to perish in a cavern near Mt. Tay- 
getus, and such as, upon a public view, were deemed 
sound and healthy, were adopted as children of the state, 
and delivered to their parents to be nursed with rigor 
and severity. 



20 

"From their tenderest years they were accustomed to 
make no choice in their eating ; not to be afraid in the dark, 
or when left alone ; not to be peevish or fretful ; to walk 
barefoot ; to lie on beds of rushes ; to wear the same clothes 
summer and winter ; and to fear nothing from their 
equals. 

"At the age of seven they were taken from their par- 
ents and delivered over to the classes for a public educa- 
tion, where their discipline was yet more rigid and 
severe. They were still obliged to go barefoot, their 
heads were shaved, and they fought with one another 
naked. 

"To enable them the better to endure bodily pain with- 
out complaining, they were annually whipped at the 
altar of Diana, and the boy that bore this punishment 
with the greatest fortitude was highly honored. 

" In order to prepare them for the stratagems of war, 
they were permitted to steal from one another, but if 
they were caught in the act they were punished for their 
lack of dexterity. Plutarch tells us of one, who, having 
stolen a fox, and hid it under his coat, chose rather to 
let the animal tear out his vitals than to discover the 
theft. 

"At twelve years of age they were removed into a 
higher class, where their labor and discipline was still 
more severe. They had now their skirmishes between 
small parties, and their mock fights between larger 
bodies. 

"Such was the constant discipline of the minority, 
which lasted till the age of thirty, before which time 



21 . 

they were not permitted to marry, to enter the army or 
to hear any office of state." — -Dr. Goldsmith. 

Spartan Girl. — ' ' The discipline of the virgins was as 
severe as that of the young men. They were inured to 
a life of labor and industry till they were twenty years 
old, before which time they were not considered as mar- 
riageable. They had also their peculiar exercises. They 
ran, wrestled and pitched the bar, and performed all 
these feats before the whole body of the citizens. 
• " So masculine an education did not fail to bestow upon 
the Spartan women equal vigor of body and mind. They 
were bold, hardy, and patriotic, rilled with a sense of 
honor, and a love of military glory. 

" Some foreign women, in conversation with the wife 
of Leonidas, saying that the Spartan women alone knew 
how to govern the men, she boldly replied: ' The Spar- 
tan women alone are the mothers of men.' A mother 
was known to give her son a shield when going to bat- 
tle with this gallant advice: ' Return with it, or return 
upon it.' " — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Disappearance of Lycurgus.— " In order to render his 
law more lasting Lycurgus pretended that something was 
still wanting to the completion of his plan, and that it 
was necessary for him to go and consult the oracle at 
Delphi. In the meantime he persuaded his countrymen 
to take an oath for the strict observance of all his laws 
till his return, and then left Sparta with a firm resolu- 
tion of never seeing it more. 

"When he arrived at Delphi, he inquired of the ora- 
cle whether the laws he had made were sufficient to ren- 
der the Lacedaemonians happy, and being told that they 



22 

were, he sent his answer to Sparta, and then volunta- 
rily starved himself to death. Others say that he died 
in Crete, ordered his body to be burned and his ashes to 
be thrown into the sea. 

"Whichever of these was the case, he equally obliged 
his countrymen, by the oath they had taken, to observe 
his laws forever, which, indeed, they were sufficiently 
inclined to do from a conviction of their real and intrin- 
sic merit." — Dr. Goldsmith. 



THE SPARTAN'S MAKCH. I 

FELICIA HEMANS. 

[The Spartan considered himself too brave to need the inspiration 
of martial music to impel him to the conflict. Thucydides says : 
"The Spartans used not the trumpet in their march into battle, be- 
cause they wished not to excite the rage of their warriors. Their 
charging step was made to the ' Dorian mood of flutes and soft re- 
corders.' "] 

'Twas morn upon the Grecian hills, 

Where peasants dressed the vines ; 
Sunlight was on Cithseron's rills, 

Arcadia's rocks and pines. 

And brightly through his reeds and flowers 

Eurotas wandered, by, 
When a sound arose from Sparta's towers, 

Of solemn harmony. 

Was it the hunter's choral strain 

To the woodland goddess poured? 
Did virgin hands in Pallas' fane 

Strike the full-sounding chord? 

But helms were glancing on the stream, 

Spears ranged in close array, 
And shields flung back a glorious beam 

To the morn of a fearful day. 



23 



And the mountain echoes of the land 

Swelled through the deep blue sky ; 
While to soft strains moved forth a band 

Of men that moved to die. 

They marched, not with the trumpet blast, 

Nor bade the horn peal out, 
And the laurel groves, as on they passed, 

Rung with no battle shout. 

They asked no clarion's voice to fire 

Their souls with an impulse high; 
But the Dorian reed and the Spartan lyre 

For the sons of liberty ! 

And still sweet flutes their path around 

Sent forth ^Eolian breath ; 
They needed not a sterner sound 

To marshal them to death. 

So moved they calmly to the field, 

Thence never to return, 
Save bearing back the Spartan shield 

Or on it proudly borne. 

Athens. — "North of the Peloponnesus, jutting out 
into the iEgean Sea, lay the rocky little Ionian State of 
Attica, with its lovely city Athens." There was a story 
that Neptune and Pallas Athene had striven [for the 
guardianship of the city, and it was decided that the 
one who should produce the most precious gift for it 
should be its patron. "Neptune struck the earth with 
his trident, and there appeared a war-horse; but Pallas 's 
touch brought forth an olive tree, and this was judged 
the most useful gift. The city bore her name; the tiny 
Athenian owl was her badge; the very olive tree she had 
bestowed was said to be the one which grew in the court 
of the Acropolis, a sacred citadel on a rock above the 



24 

city, and near at hand was the temple called the Par- 
thenon, or Virgin's shrine. Not far off was the Areop'- 
agus, a hill of Ar'es or Mars, the great place for hearing 
causes, and doing justice; and below these there grew 
up a city filled with men brave as. the Spartans, and far 
more thoughtful and wise, besides having a most per- 
fect taste and sense of beauty." — Miss Yonge. 

Kings. — During the Heroic Age, Athens was ruled by 
kings, like all the other Grecian cities. The most 
noted were Theseus and Codrus. The following legend 
is told of Codrus: At one time the Dorians invaded 
Attica, but were told by an oracle that they would never 
succeed if they slew the king of Athens. " Codrus heard 
of this oracle and devoted himself for his country. He 
found that in battle the Dorians always f orebore to strike 
him, and he, disguising himself, went into the enemy's 
camp, quarreled with a soldier there, and thus caused 
himself to be killed so as to save his country. He was 
the last king. The Athenians would not have any one 
less noble sit in his seat, and appointed magistrates 
called Archons instead of kings." — Miss Yonge. 

Lawgivers. — "Soon the Athenians fell into a state of 
misrule and disorder, and they called on a philosopher 
named Draco to draw up laws for them. Draco's laws 
were very strict, and for the least crime the punishment 
was death. Nobody could keep them, so they were set 
aside and forgotten, till a wise lawgiver, named Solon, 
undertook to draw up a fresh code of laws for them." — 
Miss Yonge. 

" His first step was in favor of the poor, who had been 
grievously oppressed by the rich. It was difficult for a 



25 . 

poor freeman to earn his subsistence, where the labor 
was principally performed by slaves; hence the poor 
were deeply in debt, and, at Athens, insolvent debtors, 
together with their wives and children, might be reduced 
into slavery, unless they could find other means of satis- 
fying their creditors. He lowered the rate of interest, 
and took away the power over the person of the debtor. 

"He divided the rich citizens into three classes and 
gave to them the privilege of holding office under the 
government. The poor were considered incapable of 
holding any employment in the state, but were given a 
right to vote in the assembly of the people. 

"To counteract the influence of the popular assembly, 
Solon gave greater weight to the court of Areopagus and 
also instituted another council called the Senate, which 
consisted of one hundred from each tribe. It was in- 
creased to five hundred when the tribes were augmented 
to ten, afterward to six hundred. 

"The court of the Areopagus had supreme control over 
the religion and morals of the state. The introduction of 
new deities, the regulation of public worship, and the 
education of youth, were objects of their peculiar care. 

"To encourage industry he empowered the Areopagus 
to inquire into every man's method of procuring a liveli- 
hood, and to punish such as had no visible way of doing 
so. He ordained that a son should not be obliged to 
support his father in old age or necessity, if the latter 
had neglected to give him some trade or calling." — Gold- 
smith. 

"At the head of the government were nine chief mag- 
istrates, who were called archons, and who were changed 



26 

every three years. To work with these there was the 
Senate of four hundred aris'toi or nobles ; but when war 
or peace was decided, the whole de'mos, or people, voted 
according to their tribes. After having set things in 
order, Solon is said to have been so annoyed by foolish 
questions on his schemes, that he went again on his 
travels. First he visited Mile'tus, in Asia Minor, then 
he went on to Lydia. This was a kingdom of Greek 
settlers in Asia Minor, where flowed that river Pactolus 
whose sands contained gold-dust from King Midas 's 
washing, as the story went. The king was Croesus, and 
his capital was Sardis." — Miss Yonge. 

Tyrants. — After Solon's departure Pisistratus, a nephew 
of Solon, became absolute master of Athens. He headed 
the democratic party, was a good general, a persuasive 
orator and an able statesman. " Having presented him- 
self in the market-place covered with blood, he assured 
the people that his life had been attempted by the nobil- 
ity on account of his affection for the multitude ; he 
therefore entreated that he should be permitted to arm a 
body-guard for his protection. This request being 
granted, ere long he seized the Acropolis and became the 
first tyrant of Athens." " The character of Pisistratus, 
as a ruler, merits every praise, he was a great encour- 
ager of learning, and during his administration Athens 
first became a literary city. He arranged the poems of 
Homer in their present order, from the detached portions 
sung by the wandering minstrels, and ordered that these 
sublime compositions should be publicly read at the 
solemn festivals. 

" The sons of Pisistratus, Hippias and Hipparchus sue- 



27. 

ceeded to the authority of their father, and for some time 
imitated his bright example. During their administra- 
tion Athens first became remarkable for the splendor of 
its public buildings, and for the diligent cultivation of 
the fine arts. They erected Hermse, columns surmounted 
with the head of Mercury, in the streets and squares, 
and inscribed on them moral sentences for the instruc- 
tion of the people. 

"The poets Anac'reon and Simon'ides were invited to 
their court, which was, indeed, the resort of all whom 
learning and genius made illustrious in Greece. Their 
reign, which lasted eighteen years, was justly termed ' the 
golden age of literature.' 

"But the possession of such unlimited power by one 
family led to its abuse." Hipparchus, having offended 
a noble family, was assassinated. "The murder of his 
brother produced a great change in the character of Hip- 
pias ; he became jealous, revengeful and cruel; in short, 
a tyrant in the worst sense of the word. His person and 
his government became alike odious. His enemies suc- 
ceeded in having him denounced by the oracle at Del- 
phi, and at length he was expelled by the assistance of 
the Spartans after his family had governed Athens for 
sixty-eight years." Hippias went over to the Persian 
court, and was henceforth the declared enemy of his 
native city, seeking aid in different quarters to re-estab- 
lish his tyranny in Athens. — Br. Goldsmith. 

Democracy Established. — Shortly after Hippias was 
driven into exile the constitution was changed so as to 
give the people additional privileges. Ostracism was 
introduced, by which they banished obnoxious persons 



28 

without trial. "If a man was thought to be dangerous 
to the state, the de'mos or people might sentence him to 
be banished. His name was written on an oyster shell, 
or on a tile, by those who wished him to be driven away, 
and these thrown into a great vessel. If they amounted 
to a certain number, the man was said to be ostracized, 
and forced to leave the city. This was sometimes done 
unjustly, but it answered the purpose of sending away 
rich men who became overbearing, and kept tyrants 
from rising up." — Miss Yonge. 

At this time ten new tribes were organized in order to 
break up the four old ones. Fifty representatives were 
sent from each tribe to the senate. Ten generals, one 
from each tribe, commanded the army in daily turn. 
All free inhabitants of Attica obtained citizenship and 
met four times a month to deliberate and decide upon 
public questions. The democracy of Athens was thus 
established and in the words of Herodotus "the Athe- 
nian then grew mighty, and it became plain that liberty 
is a brave thing." 



THE GILECO-PERSIAN WARS. 

Cause. — "About the beginning of the fifth century B. 
C, the Ionian cities of Asia Minor rebelled against 
Darius, the Persian king, who had made them a part of 
his empire. Athens, the mother city, sent a fleet to aid 
them. This interference aroused the resentment of the 
Persian monarch, who, that he might be continually 
reminded of the insult, required a servant each day at 
dinner to exclaim three times, ' Master, remember the 
Athenians!' 



29* 

"In 492 B. C, Darius dispatched an expedition to 
Greece, but it ingloriously failed. Before making a 
second attempt he sent envoys to demand from the sev- 
eral states earth and water, the usual tokens of submis- 
sion. Many of the cities yielded ; but Athens and Sparta 
answered by throwing the Persian heralds into pits and 
wells, and bidding them there find earth and water. 
These rival states now laid aside their jealousies, and 
prepared to meet the common foe." — Quackenbos. 

Battle of Marathon. — "On came the army of Darius, 
commanded by his ablest generals, with directions to 
conquer Greece and bring back the Athenians in chains. 
Not dreaming of defeat, they took with them great blocks 
of marble to raise a monument in commemoration of 
their victory. After some successes in the iEgean sea, 
the Persians disembarked on the coast of Attica. Ad- 
vancing to the plain of Marathon, 120,000 strong, they 
found an army of 10,000 Athenians drawn up to meet 
them. (490 B. C.) 

"An urgent message had been sent to the Spartans 
for assistance. They at once prepared to aid their allies, 
but as their religious scruples prevented them from start- 
ing till the moon was full, they arrived too late to take 
part in the engagement. The honor of the day, how- 
ever, was shared by the city of Plataea, which promptly 
sent all its fighting men to the support of the Athenians. 
The Greeks, under Miltiades, advanced to the charge at 
a quick pace; the Persians, withstanding their attack 
for a short time only, were soon in headlong flight. 
Six thousand of their number were left dead on the field, 



30 

and the survivors returned to Asia in such of their gal- 
leys as escaped destruction. 

"Miltiades became for a time the idol of the Athenians. 
But because of his failure in a subsequent expedition 
the ungrateful people cast him into prison, where he 
died of a wound." — Quackenbos. 

(See Guerber's Greek Stories.) 



EUCLES ANNOUNCING THE VICTORY OF MARATHON. 

LETITIA LANDON. 

[Eucles, the swiftest runner in Greece, ran with the tidings, and, 
reaching Athens, had breath only to tell the news when he fell dead 
in the street.] 

He cometh from the purple hills, 

Where fight has been to-day ; 
He bears the standard on his hand,— 

Shout round the victor's way ! 
The sunset of a battle won 
Is round his steps from Marathon. 

Gather the myrtles near, 

And fling them on his path ; 
Take from her braided hair 

The flowers the maiden hath, 
A welcome to the welcome one 
"Who hastens now from Marathon. 

They crowd around his steps, 

Rejoicing, young and old ; 
The laurel branch he bears, 

His glorious tale hath told, 
The Persian's hour of pride is done ; 
Victory is on Marathon. 

She cometh with brightened cheek, 

She who all day hath wept 
The wife and mother's tears 

Where her youngest infant slept ; 
The heart is in her eyes alone, — 
What careth she for Marathon? 



31 



But down on his threshold, down 

Sinks the warrior's failing breath; 
The tale of that mighty field 
/Is left to be told by Death. 
'Tis a common tale, — the victor's sun 
Sets in tears and blood o'er Marathon. 

Ostracism of Aristides. — "Aristides the Just, and 
Themistocles, an aspiring statesman, now became prom- 
inent in Athens. But political differences sprang up be- 
tween them, and through the intrigues of his rival Aris- 
tides was ostracised. While the people were voting, a 
stranger to Aristides, unable to write, handed him an 
oyster shell and asked him to place on it the name of 
Aristides. 'What harm has he done you?' said the 
honest patriot, complying with the request. ' None/ 
the man replied; 'but I am tired of hearing him called 
Aristides the Just.' 

"Aristides left his country praying that nothing might 
happen which would make the Athenians regret his ab- 
sence. His hopes, however, were not realized, for he 
was soon recalled to aid Themistocles in repelling a for- 
midable Persian invasion. 'Themistocles,' he said, 
when they first met, 'let us be rivals, but let our strife 
be which best may serve our country.' " — Qudckenbos. 

Expedition of Xerxes. — "Xerxes, son of Darius, had 
long been raising a great army from all parts of the Per- 
sian Empire. It is stated that his forces numbered 
over two million of soldiers, besides slaves and attend- 
ants, and they drank rivers dry on their march. 

"To reach Greece, the Persians had to cross the Hel- 
lespont. The first bridge constructed for their passage 
was broken up by a violent storm, which so enraged 



32 

Xerxes that he beheaded the workmen who had engaged 
in its erection, ordered the sea to be scourged with a 
monstrous whip, and had heavy chains thrown into it 
as symbols of its subjection to his control. Another 
bridge was soon built, and over it, for seven days and 
nights without cessation, poured the living throng, glit- 
tering with the wealth of the East — the largest army 
ever raised by man." — Quackenbos. 

Battle of Thermopylae (480 B. C.).— "Athens, mean- 
while, under the direction of Themistocles, had prepared 
for the approaching struggle by equipping a powerful 
fleet. Sparta and many of the other states, forgetting 
their internal differences, united with her for the com- 
mon defense. 

"At the Pass of Thermopylae, a narrow defile leading 
from Thessaly into Lower Greece, the Persian myriads 
were confronted by a handful of three hundred Spar- 
tans, under their king Leonidas, supported by about six 
thousand allies from the other states. Xerxes scornfully 
bade them give up their arms. 'Come and take them,' 
was the undaunted reply." — Quackenbos. 

"And when it was observed that the Persian forces 
were so numerous that their very arrows would darken 
the sun, 'Then/ replied a Spartan, 'we shall fight in 
the shade.' 

" Xerxes, provoked at these sarcasms, resolved to be- 
gin the attack immediately. The first assault was in- 
stantly repulsed with great slaughter. A body of ten 
thousand Persians, commonly known as the immortals, 
made another attempt to dislodge the Grecians, but with 
no better success." In a word, the Greeks maintained 



33 . 

their ground against the whole power of the Persian 
army for two days, and the terrified Persians had to be 
driven to the assault with whips. On the third day a 
traitor conducted a body of twenty thousand Persians 
through a by-path across a mountain that overhung the 
straits. 

" Leonidas, seeing the enemy in this situation, advised 
his allies to retire. 'As for myself and my fellow-Spar- 
tans/ said he, 'we are obliged by our laws not to fly : I 
owe a life to my country, and it is now my duty to fall 
in her defense.' Seven hundred Thespians gallantly re- 
solved to share the fate of the Spartans. When the rest 
had retired, Leonidas exhorted his followers, in the most 
cheerful manner, to prepare for death. 'Come, my fel- 
low-soldiers/ said he, 'let us dine cheerfully here, for 
to-night we shall sup with Pluto.' His men, upon hear- 
ing his determined purpose, set up a loud shout, as if 
they had been invited to a banquet, and resolved every 
man to sell his life as dearly as he could. 

"The night began now to advance, and this was 
thought the most glorious opportunity of meeting death 
in the enemy's camp, as the darkness, by concealing 
thesmallness of theirnumbers, would fill the Persians with 
greater consternation. Thus resolved, they made di- 
rectly to the Persian tents, and in the silence of night 
had almost penetrated to the royal pavilion, with hopes 
of surprising the king. The Persians, incapable of dis- 
tinguishing friend from foe, fell furiously upon each 
other, and rather assisted than opposed the Greeks. 
Thus success seemed likely to crown their bold but rash 



34 

enterprise, had not morning dawn discovered the small- 
ness of their numbers. They retreated back to the 
straits, and four times repulsed their Persian pursuers, 
but, while the victory was yet doubtful, the Persian de- 
tachment in their rear was seen descending from the 
hills. Nothing now remained but to sell their lives as 
dearly as possible ; abandoning, therefore, outer lines of 
defense, they formed themselves into a square and 
awaited the approach of their enemies. The Greeks 
were assailed on every side, yet not a man swerved from 
his post. The spears of the Greeks were blunted and 
shivered in the protracted contest. Leonidas, their 
leader, had fallen in the attack on the Persian camp, 
but his body, placed in the center of the diminished 
band was the rallying point of his exhausted soldiers. 
They sank at last beneath a mountain of darts, which 
formed the proudest testimony of their valor, and their 
most suitable monument. Of all the band, two only es- 
caped whose names were Aristodemus and Panites. 
They were treated, in consequence, with such contempt 
on their return to Sparta, that Panites killed himself in 
despair, but Aristodemus bore it with fortitude, and re- 
covered his honor by his gallant behavior on the battle 
of Platsea. The loss of the Persians at Thermopylae is 
supposed to have amounted to twenty thousand men, 
among whom were two of the king's brothers. 

"To perpetuate the memory of this wonderful exer- 
tion of valor two monuments were erected. The inscrip- 
tion on one commemorated the brave resistance made by 
a handful of Greeks against millions of Persians. The 



35 . 

other was peculiar to the Spartans, and bore these words 
written bv Simonides:" — Dr. Goldsmith. 

" Go, stranger, and to Lacedaeruon tell 
That here, obeying her behests, we fell." — Barnes. 



THE DEATH OF LEONIDAS. 

GEOEGE CEOLY. 

It was the wild midnight, a storm was on the sky ; 
The lightning gave its light, and the thunder echoed by. 
The torrent swept the glen, the ocean lashed the shore ; 
Then rose the Spartan men, to make their bed in gore. 

Swift from the deluged ground three hundred took the shield ; 
Then, in silence, gathered round the leader of the field ! 
All up the mountain's side, all down the woody vale, 
All by the rolling tide waved the Persian banners pale. 

And foremost from the pass, among the slumbering band, 
Sprang King Leonidas, like the lightning's living brand. 
Then double darkness fell, and the forest ceased its moan ; 
But there came a clash of steel, and a distant dying groan. 

Anon, a trumpet blew, and a fiery sheet burst high, 

That o'er the midnight threw a blood-red canopy, 

A host glared on the hill, a host glared by the bay ; 

But the Greeks rushed onward still, like leopards in their play. 

The air was all a yell, and the earth was all a flame, 
Where the Spartan's bloody steel on the silken turbans came ; 
And still the Greek rushed on where the fiery torrent rolled, 
Till, like a rising sun shone Xerxes' tent of gold. 

They found a royal feast, his midnight banquet there ; 
And the treasures of the East lay beneath the Doric spear. 
Then sat to the repast the bravest of the brave, 
That feast must be their last, that spot must be their grave. 



36 

Up rose the glorious rank, to Greece one cup poured high, 
Then hand in hand they drank, " To immortality !" 
Fear on King Xerxes fell, when, like spirits from the tomb, 
With shout and trumpet knell, he saw the warriors come. 

But down swept all his power, with chariot and with charge ; 
Down poured the arrow's shower, till sank the Spartan targe. 
Thus fought the Greek of old! thus will he fight again. 
Shall not the self-same mould bring forth the self-same men? 

Desertion of Athens. — "Xerxes, however, having now 
passed the straits, found nothing capable of opposing 
his progress in the open country ; he therefore directed 
his march towards Athens, on which he was determined 
to take signal vengeance. 

"Themistocles, seeing little hope of defending the city 
against the innumerable host of Xerxes, sent to consult 
the oracle of Apollo, at Delphos. The answer he re- 
ceived was, 'Athens can be saved only by wooden walls.' 
This he interpreted to mean ships, and aeted according- 
ly. A decree was therefore passed, by which it was or- 
dained, that Athens for awhile should be given up in 
trust to the gods, and all the inhabitants, whether in 
freedom or slavery, should go on board the fleet. The 
young and adventurous set sail for the neighboring 
island of Salamis ; the old, the women and children, 
took shelter at Troeze'ne, the inhabitants of which 
generously offered them an asylum. But in this deser- 
tion of the city, that which raised the compassion of all 
was the great number of old men they were obliged to 
leave in the place, on account of their age and infirmi- 
ties. Many also voluntarily remained behind, believing 
that the citadel, which they had fortified with wooden 
walls, was what the oracle pointed out for general 



37 

safety. To heighten this scene of distress, the matrons 
were seen clinging with fond affection to the places 
where they had so long resided ; the women filled the 
streets with lamentations; and even the domestic ani- 
mals seemed to take part in the general concern. It was 
impossible to see those poor creatures run howling and 
crying after their masters, who were going on shipboard, 
without being strongly affected. Amongst these, the 
faithfulness of a particular dog is recorded, which 
jumped into the sea, and continued swimming after the 
vessel that contained his master. The faithful animal 
landed at Salamis, and died, the moment after, upon the 
shore. " — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Destruction of Athens. — "The few inhabitants that 
remained behind retired into the citadel, where, literally 
interpretating the oracle, they fortified it as well as they 
could, and patiently awaited the approach of the invader. 
Nor was it long before they saw him arrive at their gates 
and summon them to surrender. This, however, they 
refused to do, or even to listen to any terms he proposed 
to them. The place was, therefore, taken by assault, 
all who were found in it were put to the sword, and the 
citadel reduced to ashes. 

" But though the Greeks had been thus obliged to 
abandon Athens to the fury of the enemy, they were by 
no means disposed to let them outrun the whole country. 
They took possession of the Peloponnesus, built a wall 
across the isthmus that joined it to the continent, and 
committed the defense of that important post to the 
brother of Leonidas. In adopting this measure they 
were unanimous in regarding it as the most prudent 



38 

that could be embraced, but this was not the case with 
regard to the operations of the fleet." 

Battle of Salamis. — ' ' In spite of opposition Themis- 
tocles maintained that it would be the height of folly to 
abandon so advantageous a post as that of Salamis, where 
they were now stationed. They were now, he said, in 
possession of the narrow seas, where the number of the 
enemy's ships could never avail them. At last his op- 
ponents yielded to him, and resolved to await the ene- 
my's fleet at Salamis. Fearful, however, that the con- 
federates might change their mind, Themistocles had 
recourse to stratagem. He contrived to have it privately 
intimated to Xerxes, that the Greeks were now assembled 
at Salamis, preparing for fight, and that it would be an 
easy matter to attack and destroy them. The artifice 
succeeded. Xerxes gave order to his fleet to block up 
Salamis by night, in order to prevent an escape of the 
Greeks. 

" Aristides, who commanded a small body of troops at 
iEgina, no sooner heard of the apparent danger of The- 
mistocles than he ventured in a small boat by night 
through the whole fleet of the enemy. Upon landing 
he repaired to the tent of Themistocles, and addressed 
him in the following manner: ' If we are wise, Themis- 
tocles, we shall henceforth lay aside all those frivolous 
dissensions which have hitherto divided us. One strife, 
and a noble one it is, now remains to us, which of us 
shall be most serviceable to our country. It is yours to 
command as a general, it is mine to obey as a subject, 
and happy shall I be if my advice can any way contrib- 
ute to yours and my country's glory.' He then informed 



39 

him of the fleet's real situation, and warmly exhorted 
him to give battle without delay. Themistocles felt all 
that gratitude which so generous and disinterested a con- 
duct deserves, ,and eager to make a proper return, he im- 
mediately let him into his schemes and projects, partic- 
ularly this last, of suffering himself to be blocked up. 
After this they exerted their joint influence with the 
other commanders to persuade them to engage, and ac- 
cordingly both fleets prepared for battle. 

"The Grecian fleet consisted of three hundred and 
eighty ships, that of the Persians more than a thousand 
vessels. But whatever advantage they had in numbers 
and the size of their vessels, they fell infinitely short of 
the Greeks in naval skill, and in the acquaintance with 
the seas where they fought. Themistocles, knowing that 
a periodical wind, which would be favorable, would soon 
set in, delayed the attack till that time, and this had no 
sooner arisen than the signal was given for battle, and 
the Grecian fleet sailed forward in exact order. 

"As the Persians now fought under the eye of their 
sovereign, who beheld the action from a neighboring 
promonotory, they exerted themselves for some time 
with great spirit, but their courage abated when they 
came to a closer engagement. The wind blew directly in 
their faces, the height and heaviness of their vessels ren- 
dered them unwieldy and almost useless, and even the 
number of their ships only served to embarrass and per- 
plex them in that narrow sea. 

" The Ionians, mindful of their Hellenic descent, were 
far from being anxious for a victory that would enslave 
the land of their fathers ; in the very first onset many of 



40 

them fled, while others deserted to the Greeks. The 
Phoenician galleys being thus disordered, and their 
flanks exposed, dashed against each other, and crowded 
into a confused mass, deprived of all power of action. 
The Athenians with skill increased the confusion by 
forcing fresh hostile ships into the narrow space in which 
the Phoenicians were entangled. And thus, as the poet 
iEscbylus, who personally shared in the battle, declares, 
the whole Persian fleet ' was caught and destroyed like 
fish in a net.' 

"Nothing could repair the disorder that had now 
taken place in the Persian fleet. They fled on all sides ; 
some of them were sunk, and more taken ; above two 
hundred were burnt, and all the rest entirely dispersed. 

" Such was the issue of the battle of Salamis, in which 
the Persians received a more severe blow than any they 
had hitherto experienced from Greece. Themistocles is 
said to have been so elated with this victory that he 
proposed breaking down the bridge over the Hellespont, 
and thus cutting off the retreat of the enemy ; but from 
this he was dissuaded by Aristides, who represented the 
danger of reducing so powerful an army to despair." — 
Dr. Goldsmith. 

Flight of Xerxes. — "Xerxes, however, seems to have 
been so apprehensive of this step being taken that 
after leaving about three hundred thousand of his best 
troops behind him, under Mardonius, not so much with 
a view of conquering Greece as in order to prevent a 
pursuit, he hastened back with the rest to the Helle- 
spont, where, finding the bridge broken down by the 
waves, he was obliged to pass over in a small boat. His 



41 - 

manner of leaving Europe, when compared with his os- 
tentatious entry, rendered his disgrace the more poign- 
ant and afflicting." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Triumph of Themistocles. — ''Nothing could exceed 
the joy of the Greeks upon the victory they had obtained 
at Salamis. Themistocles was not only honored by his 
own countrymen, but was carried in triumph to Sparta. 
They crowned him with olive, presented him with a 
rich chariot and conducted him with three hundred 
horse to the confines of their state. 

" When he appeared at the Olympic games (see pages 
115, 186, Barnes), before all the states of Greece assem- 
bled, the spectators received him with uncommon accla- 
mations. As soon as he appeared the whole assembly 
rose to do him honor, nobody regarded either the games 
or the combatants ; Themistocles was the only object 
worthy of their attention. Struck with such flattering 
honors he could not help exclaiming that he had that 
day reaped the fruit of all his labors." — Dr. Goldsmith. 



THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS. 

JESCHYLUS. 

• 

The Persian chief, 

Little dreaming of the wiles of Greece . 

And gods averse, to all the naval, leaders 

Gave his high charge : " Soon as yon sun shall cease 

To dart his radiant beams, and darkening night 

Ascends the temple of the sky, arrange 

In three divisions your well-ordered ships, 

And guard each pass, each outlet of the seas : 

Others enring around this rocky isle 

Of Salamis. Should Greece escape her fate, 



42 



And work her way by secret flight, your heads 
Shall answer the neglect." This harsh' command 
He gave, exulting in his mind, nor knew 
What fate designed. With martial discipline 
And prompt obedience, snatching a repast, 
Each mariner fixed well his ready oar. 

Soon as the golden sun was set, and night 

Advanced, each, trained to ply the dashing oar, 

Assumed his seat; in arms each warrior stood, 

Troop cheering troop through all the ships of war. 

Each to the appointed station steers his course, 

And through the night his naval course each chief 

Fixed to secure the passes. Night advanced 

But not by secret flight did Greece attempt 

To escape. The morn, all beauteous to behold, 

Drawn by white steeds, bounds o'er the lightened earth. 

At once from every Greek, with glad acclaim, 

Burst forth the song of war, whose lofty notes, 

The echo of the island rocks returned, 

Spreading dismay through Persia's host, thus fallen 

From their high hopes ; no flight this solemn strain 

Portended, but deliberate valor bent 

On daring battle ; while the trumpet's sound 

Kindled the flames of war. But when their oars 

(The paean ended) with impetuous force 

Dashed the surrounding surges, instant all 

Rushed on in view ; in orderly array 

The squadron of the right first led ; behind 

Rode their whole fleet ; and now distinct was heara 

From every part this voice of exhortation : 

"Advance, ye sons of Greece, from thralldom save 
Your country — save your wives, your children save, 
The temples of your gods, the sacred tomb 
Where rest your honored ancestors ; this day 
The common cause of all demands your valor." 
Meanwhile from Persia's hosts the deepening shout 
Answered their shout ; no time for cold delay ; 
But ship 'gainst ship its brazen beak impelled. 



First to the charge a Grecian galley rushed ; 

111 the Phoenician bore the rough attack, 

Its sculptured prow all shattered. Each advanced, 

Daring an opposite. The deep array 

Of Persia at the first sustained the encounter ; 

But their thronged numbers, in the narrow seas 

Confined, want room for action; and, deprived 

Of mutual aid, beaks clash with beaks, and each 

Breaks all the other's oars ; with skill disposed, 

The Grecian navy circled them around 

In fierce assault ; and, rushing from its height, 

The inverted vessel sinks. 

The sea no more 
Wears its accustomed aspect, with foul wrecks 
And blood disfigured ; floating carcasses 
Roll on the rocky shores ; the poor remains 
Of the barbaric armament to flight 
Ply every oar inglorious ; onward rush 
The Greeks amid the ruins of the fleet, 
As through a shoal of fish caught in the net, 
Spreading destruction ; the wide ocean o'er 
Wailings are heard, and loud laments, till night, 
With darkness on her brow, brought grateful truce. 
Should I recount each circumstance of woe, 
Ten times on my unfinished tale the sun 
Would set ; for be assured that not one day 
Could close the ruin of so vast a host. 

" Mardonius, having passed the winter in Thessaly, 
led his forces in the spring into the province of Boeo'tia. 
Before attacking Attica he sent tempting proposals to 
the Athenians, offering to rebuild their city, to present 
them with a considerable sum of money, hoping by this 
means to detach them from the general interests of 
Greece. The Athenians rejected with scorn this tempt- 
ing offer, and at the same time they entreated their allies 
to join them as speedily as possible, in order to repel a 



44 

second invasion of Attica. Messenger after messenger 
was sent to claim the promised aid of Sparta, but all in 
vain; that state, with the selfishness which characterizes 
and disgraces its entire history, neglected every sum- 
mons. They had completed the fortifications of the 
Corinthian isthmus, and having thus provided, as they 
believed, for the security of the Peloponnesus, they 
abandoned northern Greece to the vengeance of the 
Persians. 

"Deserted a second time by the confederates, the 
Athenians again retired to Salamis, and witnessed from 
its shores the flames that consumed their houses and 
temples. Everything that had been spared in the first 
invasion was destroyed in the second. 

" The deputies from Platsea and Megara united with 
the ambassadors from Athens in reproaching the Spar- 
tans for their disgraceful abandonment of the common 
cause. The Spartans for some time turned a deaf ear to 
their complaints, until at length the Athenians hinted 
the probability of their being compelled to accept the 
offers of Mardonius, and pointed out to the Spartans how 
vain would be the wall across the isthmus when the Per- 
sian fleet, united with that of Athens, would triumph- 
antly sweep the seas, and harass the coast of the Pelo- 
ponnesus. They immediately resolved to take the field ; 
the different southern states were summoned to send in 
their contingents, and Pausanias, one of the Macedse- 
monian kings, was appointed to the command of the 
combined forces." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Battle of Platsea. — " The Grecian army now numbered 
seventy thousand men. Of these five thousand were 



45 - 

Spartans, attended by thirty-five thousand Helots. The 
Athenians amounted to eight thousand, and the troops 
of the allies made up the rest. With this army the 
Greeks resolved to oppose Mardonius, though at the head 
of no less than three hundred thousand men. 

"The two armies continued in sight of each other for 
the space of ten days, both equally eager for battle, and 
yet both afraid to strike the first blow. It was during 
this interval that a mutiny had nearly arisen in the 
Grecian army about the post of honor. All parties 
allowed the Spartans the command of the right wing, 
but the command of the left was a. position of dispute 
between Athens and her allies. This dissension might 
have produced very fatal effects had it not been for the 
moderation and magnanimity of Aristides, who com- 
manded the Athenians, and who addressed himself to 
the Spartans and the rest of the confederates in the fol- 
lowing manner : f It is not now a time, my friends, to 
dispute about the merits of past services, for all boasting 
is vain in the day of danger. Let it be the brave man's 
pride to own that it is not the post or station which gives 
courage, or which can take it away. I head the Athe- 
nians. Whatever post you shall assign us we will main- 
tain it, and will endeavor to make our station, wherever 
we are placed, the post of true honor and military glory. 
We are come hither not to contend with our friends, but 
to fight with our enemies ; not to boast of our ancestors, 
but to imitate them. This battle will distinguish the 
merit of each city, and the lowest sentinel will share 
with his commander the honor of the day.' This speech 
determined the council of war in favor of the Athenians, 



46 

who thereupon were allowed to maintain their former 
station. 

" Meanwhile the Grecians, beginning to be straitened 
for want of water, resolved to retreat to a place where 
they might be more plentifully supplied with that nec- 
essary article. As their removal was in the night much 
disorder ensued, and in the morning Mardonius, con- 
structing their retreat into a flight, immediately pursued 
them, and coming up with them near the little city of 
Plataea, attacked them with great impetuosity. His ar- 
dor, however, was soon checked by the Spartans, who 
brought up the rear of the Grecian army, and who, 
throwing themselves into a phalanx, stood impenetrable 
and immovable against all the assaults of the enemy. 
At the same time the Athenians, being informed of the 
attack quickly returned, and, after defeating a body of 
Greeks in Persian pay, came to the assistance of the 
Spartans, just as these last had completed the overthrow 
of the enemy. For Mardonius, enraged at seeing his 
men give way, rushed into the thickest of the ranks in 
order to restore the battle, and was killed by a Spartan. 
Upon this, the whole army betook themselves to flight. 
A body of forty thousand men fled towards the Helle- 
spont. The rest retreated to the camp, and there endeav- 
ored to defend themselves with wooden ramparts, but 
these being quickly broken down, the Greeks rushed in 
upon them with irresistible fury, and, eager to rid the 
country of such terrible invaders, sternly refused them 
quarter, putting upwards of a hundred thousand of them 
to the sword." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

''The whole Persian camp was sacked. Wagon-loads 



47 - 

of silver and gold vessels were to be seen ; collars, brace- 
lets, and rich armor and the manger of Xerxes' horses 
which he had left behind and which was of finely 
worked brass. A tenth of the spoils was set apart for 
the temple of Apollo at Delphi." /'The same day a vic- 
tory was gained at Myc'ale, Asia Minor, over the Persian 
forces in Ionia." — Miss Yonge and Quackenbos. 

" Thus ended the invasion of Greece by the Persians, 
nor ever after was an army from Persia seen to cross the 
Hellespont." — Dr. Goldsmith. 



THE TOMBS OF PLAT.EA. 

MRS. HEMANS. 

And there they sleep — the men who stood 

In arms before the exulting sun, 
And bathed their spears in Persian blood, 

And taught the earth how freedom might be won. 

They sleep ! The Olympic wreaths are dead, 
i The Athenian lyres are hushed and gone ; 
The Dorian voice of song is fled, — 

Slumber, ye mighty ! slumber deeply on ! 

They sleep, and seems not all around 

As hallowed unto Glory's tomb? 
Silence is on the battle-ground, 

The heavens are loaded with a deathless gloom. 

And stars are watching on their height, 
But dimly seen through mist and cloud, 

And still and solemn is the light 
"Which folds the plain as with a glimmering shroud. 

And thou, pale night-queen ! here thy beams 

Are not as those the shepherd loves ; 
Nor look they down on shining streams, 

By Naiads haunted, in their laurel groves: 



48 

Thou seest no pastoral hamlet sleep 

In shadowy quiet midst its vines ; 
No temple gleaming from the steep, 

Midst the gray olives on the mountain pines : 

But o'er a dim and boundless waste 
Thy rays, e'en like a tomb-lamp's, brood, 

Where man's departed steps are traced 
But by his dust amid the solitude. 

And be it thus ! What slave shall tread 

O'er Freedom's ancient battle-plains? 
Let deserts wrap the glorious dead, 

Where their bright land sits weeping o'er her chains 

Here, where their Persian clarion rang, 

And where the Spartan sword flashed high, 

And where the paean strains were sung, 
From year to year swelled on by liberty ! 

Here should no voice, no sound, be heard, 

Until the bonds of Greece be riven, 
Save of the leader's charging word, 

Or the shrill trumpet, pealing up through heaven! 

Eest in your silent homes, ye brave ! 

No vines festoon your lonely tree ! 
No harvest o'er your war-folds wave, 

Till rushing winds proclaim, 
The land is free ! 



THE ISLES OF GREECE. 

BYEON. 

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece ! 

Where burning Sappho loved and sung, 
Where grew the arts of war and peace, — 

Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! 
Eternal summer gilds them yet, 
But all, except their sun, is set. 



49 



The Scian and the Teian muse, 
The hero's harp, the lover's lute, 

Have found the fame your shores refuse ; 
Their place of birth alone is mute 

To soiind which echo further west 

Than your sires' "Islands of the Blest." 

The mountains look on Marathon — 
And Marathon looks on the sea ; 

And musing there an hour alone, 
I dreamed that Greece might still be free ; 

For, standing on the Persians' grave, 

I could not deem myself a slave. 

A king sat on the rocky brow 
Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis; 

And ships, by thousands, lay below, 
And men in nations ;— all were his! 

He counted them at break of day — 

And when the sun set, where were they? 

And where are they? and where art thou, 
My country? On thy voiceless shore 

The heroic lay is tuneless now — 
The heroic bosom beats no more ! 

And must thy lyre, so long divine, 

Degenerate into hands like mine? 

'Tis something, in the dearth of fame, 
Though linked among a fettered race, 

To feel at least a patriot's shame, 
Even as I sing, suffuse my face ; 

For what is left the poet here? 

For Greeks ablush, — for Greece a tear. 

Must we but weep o'er days more blest? 

Must we but blush?— Our fathers bled. 
Earth ! render back from out thy breast 

A remnant of our Spartan dead ! 
Of the three hundred grant but three, 
To make a new Thermopylae ! 



50 

What, silent still? and silent all? . 

Ah ! no ;— the voices of the dead 
Sound like a distant torrent's fall, 

And answer, "Let one living head, 
But one arise, — we come, we come!" 
'Tis but the living who are dumb. 

Athenian Supremacy. — Athens was quickly rebuilt 
and its walls fortified and extended, with a view to 
greater security in the future. This excited the jealousy 
of the Lacedaemonians, who sent ambassadors to dis- 
suade them from the undertaking. Themistocles skill- 
fully delayed treating with them until the works were 
completed and then sent back a defiant answer. 

This spirited conduct ended the trouble for a time, 
and instead of drawing their swords against each other 
they fitted out a powerful fleet to establish the Grecian 
dominion on the islands and shores of the iEgean. Pau- 
sanias commanded the Spartans ; the Athenians were 
conducted by Aristides, and Cimon, the son of Miltiades. 

Byzantium was taken and plundered. A great num- 
ber of prisoners were captured, many of whom were of 
the richest and noblest families of Persia. " But what- 
ever the Greeks gained upon this occasion in fame and 
authority, they lost in purity and simplicity of their 
manners. The deluge of wealth poured in upon them 
from this quarter naturally tended to corrupt their 
minds ; and from this time forward neither the magis- 
trates nor the people valued themselves, as formerly, on 
their personal merit, but merely on account of their 
riches and possessions." — Br. Goldsmith. 

Fate of Pausanias. — The Athenians were not so soon 
demoralized by this prosperity, but it proved the ruin of 



51 - 

Pausanias, who was led by his ambitious schemes to 
play the part of a cowardly traitor to his country. " He 
offered to deliver up Sparta, and even all of Greece, to 
Xerxes, provided that prince would give him his daugh- 
ter in marriage." The Spartan magistrates became ac- 
quainted with his designs and ordered his arrest. "He 
took refuge in the temple of Minerva, where the sanctity 
of the place prevented him from being dragged forth. 
The people blocked up the entrance with stones, and 
tearing off the roof, left him to die of cold and hunger. 
Thus perished the man who had led on the troops of 
Greece to victory in the battle of Platsea." — Dr. Gold- 
smith. 

Themistocles Exiled. — The fate of Pausanias soon after 
involved that of Themistocles. He was thought to have 
favored the designs of Pausanias, a crime of which it 
afterward appeared he was altogether guiltless. The 
fact that he gained great wealth while in office influenced 
his countrymen to accuse him of obtaining it by illegit- 
imate means. He also built near his house a temple in 
honor of Diana, bearing the inscription, "To Diana, the 
goddess of good counsel," intimating thereby "that he 
had given the best counsel, not only to the Athenians 
but to all Greece. For this presumption he had been 
banished by the Athenians, but now the Spartans, his 
old enemies, accused him of being an accomplice of Pau- 
sanias, and the Athenians, who had been envious of his 
former popularity, joined in the charge against him. 
The people were so engraged that they clamored for his 
death. Officers were sent to seize him and bring him 



52 

for trial before a counsel of Greeks; but having timely 
notice of it he fled. 

After various wandering, he at last reached Sardis, 
and prostrating hinself before the Persian king, boldly 
declared his name, his country and his misfortunes. "I 
have done my ungrateful country services more than 
once," said he, "and I am now come to offer those serv- 
ices to you. My life is in your hands; you may now 
exert your clemency or display your vengeance. By the 
former you will preserve a faithful suppliant, by the 
latter you will destroy the greatest enemy of Greece." 

The king was highly pleased with his eloquence and 
boldness. His admiration for Themistocles led him to 
confer the most distinguished honors upon him, and 
gave him the revenues of three cities for the support of 
himself and family who had followed him into exile. 

But nothing could erase from the breast of Themisto- 
cles the love he entertained for his country, though the 
ingratitude of his countrymen had hardened his heart 
for awhile. "When Artaxerxes, therefore, proposed fit- 
ting out an expedition against Athens, and intrusting 
the command of it Themistocles, that patriot, rather 
than carry arms against the place of his nativity, put an 
end to his own life by poison." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Eule of Aristides. — In the meantime, Aristides con- 
tinued every day to win a larger share of the esteem and 
veneration of his countrymen by his integrity and love 
of justice. So great was his character in this respect 
that he was considered the only person in the country 
to be intrusted with the public treasure. Implicit con- 
fidence was placed in him, for while his friends rolled 



53 . 

in luxury and affluence, he remained' in poverty. Aris- 
tides died (375 B. C.) greatly honored, though he was 
so poor that he did not have enough money to pay his 
funeral expenses, but a monument was raised to him by 
the state, and his family were supported by pensions. 
Only one other Athenian name w r as held to be as pure 
and noble as that of Aristides. 

Cimon. — "The first man who began to make a figure 
at Athens after the death of Themistocles and Aristides 
was Ci'mon, the son of Milti'ades. In his earlier years 
he had led a very dissolute life; but Aristi'des, perceiv- 
ing in him, amidst all his dissipation, the seeds of many 
great and good qualities, advised him to change his con- 
duct, and to raise his mind from the pursuit of low and 
ignoble pleasures to the ambition of directing the affairs 
of the state. He did so, and in a short time, became 
equal to his father in courage, to Themistocles in sagac- 
ity, and not much inferior to his instructor himself in 
integrity." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Under the leadership of Cimon the Greeks achieved 
many brilliant successes over the Persians, and, in 450 
B. C, concluded a treaty, with Artaxerxes I, on terms the 
most honorable to Greece. "It was stipulated that all 
the Greek cities in Asia should be free, and that no Per- 
sian army should come within three days' march of the 
coast, and that no Persian vessel should set sail on the 
^Egean sea. Such was the conclusion of this memora- 
ble war, which, without interruption, had lasted for half 
a century. The same magnanimous republic that first 
dared to brave the resentment of the greatest empire of 



54 

the world had the honor of prescribing the condition of 
peace." 

Jealousy of the Greeks. — "The war between Greece 
and Persia had checked without destroying the mutual 
jealousies between the leading states, and now Sparta, 
Argos, and Thebes began to look with envy on the glory 
that Athens had obtained by her immortal victories. 
The Spartans in particular were enraged with themselves 
for having withdrawn so early from a war so productive 
of fame and profit to their rivals. They were still more 
indignant because the maritime states had chosen Athens 
as their guardian and their head. Twenty years before 
the peace with Persia the Spartans had determined to 
make war on the Athenians, but unexpected calamities 
engaged their attention at home and brought their state 
to the very brink of destruction."— Dr. Goldsmith. 

Revolt of the Helots. — "Laconia was. laid waste by 
one of the most dreadful earthquakes recorded in his- 
tory (469 B. C). The city of Sparta was tumbled into 
ruins, and twenty thousand of the inhabitants were de- 
stroyed. The Helots, believing that the moment for re- 
covering their liberty was arrived, took possession of a 
strong fortress and spread terror through all Laconia. 
This revolt compelled the Spartans, much against their 
will, to solicit the assistance of the Athenians, who were 
considered the most skillful of all the Greeks in conduct- 
ing sieges. Their request was granted, but the strength 
of the besieged baffled their united efforts, and the aux- 
iliaries were sent home. This war continued ten years, 
and must have greatly exhausted the Spartan state, since 
at its conclusion very favorable terms were granted to 



55 , 

the insurgents. It was stipulated that they should be 
allowed to depart with their wives, children and prop- 
erty, unmolested from the Peloponnesus. The Athe- 
nians received the exiles with great kindness, and be- 
stowed on them the city Naupactus, a seaport on the 
Crissean gulf. The fugitives repaid the generosity of 
Athens by the most devoted attachment, nor had that 
city a more faithful ally than Naupactus during the sub- 
sequent wars." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

• Age of Pericles. — " Cimon, during his lifetime, used 
every exertion to restore and preserve peace between 
Athens and Sparta; he was at the head of the nobility, 
whose assistance, added to his own, military glory, made 
him at first the most influential man in the state. (See 
Barnes, page 136.) But he soon met with a formidable 
rival in Pericles, the greatest statesman of antiquity. 
Though descended from an illustrious family, he placed 
himself at the head of the popular party, and, by his su- 
perior eloquence, wielded at will that fierce democracy. 
Though his military fame did not equal that of Cimon, 
he was second only to that illustrious general in the art 
of war; but in political skill Pericles was unequalled, 
and even had sufficient influence to procure the tempo- 
rary banishment of his rival." — Dr. Goldsmith.- 

His aim was to make Athens the seat of art and refine- 
ment and procure for her the supremacy of Greece. As 
the leader of the democracy he sought to make the peo- 
ple all powerful in Athens. This he accomplished by 
introducing the custom of military pay, by attaching 
salaries to all civil offices so that the poorest citizen might 
aspire to the highest magistracy. In this manner the 



56 

power of the court of Areopagus, the stronghold of aris- 
tocracy, was broken. In order that the people might 
become qualified to exert their influence in government 
he secured the payment of citizens who served on the jury 
or attended the meetings of the- popular assembly. To 
gain their favor as well as to promote their education free 
tickets to the theaters and other places of amusement were 
supplied. Never before had any people enjoyed such 
perfect political liberty nor obtained so intimate a knowl- 
edge of public affairs. 

"Athens, thus ruled, became a great imperial city, ex- 
tending protection to the less powerful states and exact- 
ing from them in return obedience and tribute. Her fleet 
became mistress of the eastern Mediterranean; wealth 
flowed into her treasury, and most of the islands of the 
iEgean, with many colonies and conquered territories, 
acknowledged her sway/' — Quackenbos. . 

The riches that Pericles obtained were faithfully laid 
out in increasing the navy and ornamenting the city of 
Athens. His enemies accused him of appropriating 
money from the common treasury to adorn Athens " as 
a vain woman decks herself out with jewels." Pericles 
replied that the money was contributed by the league 
for protection against the Persians, "and so long as the 
Athenians kept the enemy at a distance they had a right 
to use the money as they pleased." It was his design 
that the arts and crafts at home should be employed and 
have their share of the public moneys as well as those 
maintained in the armaments abroad. 

The summit of the Acropolis, a level plain eight hun- 
dred feet in length and nearly four hundred in breadth, 



57 • - 

was chosen as the site for those masterpieces of archi- 
tecture which were erected by Pericles and other states- 
men to be the glory of their own age and the admiration 
of posterity. Here were erected the unrivaled Parthe- 
non, the entrance to the citadel or Propylaaa, the treas- 
ury, and the courts. At the foot of the Acropolis were 
the Odeum, where musical contests were celebrated, and 
the theater of Bacchus, where the great tragedies were 
acted in honor of that deity. (See page 165, Barnes.) 

The lower city itself contained no structures worthy of 
mention, since the Athenians were forbidden by law to 
use any display in the construction of their own private 
dwellings. The Athenian Agora or market-place was 
surrounded by porticos ornamented by busts and statues, 
by such paintings as the burning of Troy and the battle 
of Marathon, and by moral sentences written for the in- 
struction of the people. It was under the shade of one 
of these porticos that Zeno taught his disciples, whence 
his followers were called Stoics, from a Greek word 
(stoa), signifying a porch. 

The only temple in the lower city was the temple of 
Theseus, a beautiful structure. It was erected in mem- 
ory of Theseus, who had ever been the protector of the 
distressed, and therefore had the privilege of being a 
sanctuary for slaves and all men of the lower ranks who 
dreaded persecution. 

As a part of his maritime policy Pericles built the 
Long Walls connecting Athens with its port Piraeus. 
"The Long Walls were each between four and five miles 
in length and sixty feet high. They were defended by 
numerous towers, which, when Athens became crowded, 



58 

were used as shops and private dwellings. The walls 
were employed as highways, the top being wide enough 
to allow two chariots to pass conveniently. The founda- 
tion of the northern wall now forms in part the road-bed 
of the railroad running from Piraeus to Athens." ''With 
her communication at sea thus secured, and with a 
powerful army at her command, Athens could bid defi- 
ance to her foes on sea and land."— Dr. Goldsmith. 

The Age of Pericles, though it embraced less than the 
lifetime of a single generation, gave birth to more great 
men — poets, artists, statesmen and philosophers — than 
all the world besides has produced in any period of 
equal length. Yet among all these great names that of 
Pericles ranks pre-eminent, for his commanding states- 
manship, his persuasive eloquence, and almost universal 
genius. 

Strength and Weakness of the Athenian Empire. — 
Athens had become the most powerful naval state in the 
world, but she had reached the summit of her greatness. 
The Persian wars had checked the power of Persia. Rome 
had not yet risen to prominence, and Carthage was only 
able to contend with the Greek cities of Sicily. Indis- 
putably the Hellenes were at this moment the predomi- 
nant race of the world, and Athens was the real head of 
Hellas. Never before had there been such a union of 
the material and intellectual elements of civilization at 
the seat of empire. " Literature and art had been car- 
ried to the utmost perfection possible to human genius," 
yet the Athenian empire rested upon a foundation of 
sand. The spirit of freedom lived not only in Athens 
but was smouldering in all her subject cities. The so- 



59 ' 

called confederates were the slaves of Athens. "To her 
they paid tribute. To her courts they were dragged for 
trial." She was the hateful tyrant whose yoke they 
were impatient to throw off. If Athens had but known 
how to retain her rivals as co-workers and fellow-coun- 
trymen what might not have been the future of the Hel- 
lenes ! 

Another deep-rooted evil had been planted in the 
bosom of the democracy itself. Pericles himself had 
sown the seed. A system which provides payment for 
the smallest public service and establishes the wholesale 
distribution of public gifts can not fail to produce a fawn- 
ing, improvident, idle people. 

The results of this erroneous policy soon became evi- 
dent in the struggle between Athens and Sparta called 
the Peloponnesian war. — Adapted from Myers. 



GREEK ART. 

First Grecian Temples. — "In the earliest times the 
Greeks had no temples save the forests. The statues of 
the gods were first placed beneath the shelter of a tree 
or within its hollow trunk. After a time a building 
rudely constructed of the trunks of trees, and shaped 
like the habitations of men, marked the first step in ad- 
vance. Then stone took the place of the wooden frame. 
With the introduction of a durable material the artist 
was encouraged to spend more care and labor on his 
work. Thus architecture began to make rapid strides, 
and by the century following the age of Solon at Athens, 



GO 

there were many beautiful temples in different parts of 
the Hellenic world." — Myers. 

The Greek Sense of Beauty. — ' ' The Greeks were artists 
by nature. They possessed an organism that was most 
exquisitely sensitive to impressions of the beautiful. As 
it has been expressed, ugliness gave them pain like a 
blow. Everything they made, from the shrines of their 
gods to the meanest utensils of domestic use, was beauti- 
ful. Beauty they placed next to holiness; indeed they 
almost, or quite, made beauty and moral right the same 
thing. It is said that it was noted by the Greek as 
something strange and exceptional that Socrates was 
good, notwithstanding he was ugly in feature. 

"The first maxim in Greek art, as well as morality, 
was: ' Nothing in excess.' The Greek eye was offended 
at any lack of symmetry or proportion in an object. 
The proportions of the Greek temple are perfect. Clear- 
ness of outline was another requirement of Greek taste. 
It is possible that nature itself taught the Greeks these 
first principles of art. Nature in Greece never goes to 
extremes. The Grecian mountains and islands are never 
over large. The climate is never excessively cold nor 
oppressively hot. And Nature here seems to abhor vague- 
ness. The singular transparency of the atmosphere 
lends a remarkable clearness of outline to every object. 
The Parthenon seems modeled after the hills that lie 
with such absolute clearness of form against the Attic 
sky." — Myers. 



61 

FOREST HYMN. 

BRYANT. 

The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned 

To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, 

And spread the roof above them — ere he framed 

The lofty vault, to gather and roll back 

The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, 

Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down 

And offered to the Mightiest, solemn thanks 

And supplication. For his simple heart 

Might not resist the sacred influences, 

Which, from the stilly twilight of the place, 

And from the gray old trunks that high in heaven 

Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound 

Of the invisible breath that swayed at once 

All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed 

His spirit with the thought of boundless power 

And inaccessible majesty. Ah, why 

Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect 

God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore 

Only among the crowd, and under roofs 

That our frail hands have raised? Let me, at least 

Here, in the shadow of this aged wood, 

Offer one hymn— thrice happy, if it find 

Acceptance in his ear. 

Orders of Architecture. — "Before speaking of the most 
noted temples of Hellas, we must first name the three 
styles or orders of Grecian architecture. These are the 
Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. They are distin- 
guished from one another chiefly by differences in the 
proportions and ornamentation of the column. 

"The Doric column is without a base, and has a sim- 
ple and massive capital. The prototype of this order 
may be seen at Beni Hassan, in Egypt. At first the 
Doric temples of the Greeks were almost as massive as 
the Egyptian temples, but later they became more refined. 



62 

"The Ionic column is characterized by the spiral 
volutes of the capital. This form was borrowed from 
the Assyrians, and was principally employed by the 
Ionians, whence its name. 

"The Corinthian order is distinguished by its rich 
capital, formed of acanthus leaves. This type is made 
up of Egyptian, Assyrian and Grecian elements. The 
bell shape of the capital is in imitation of the Egyptian 
style. The addition of the acanthus leaves is said to 
have been suggested to the artist by the pretty effect of 
a basket surrounded by the leaves of an acanthus plant, 
upon which it had accidentally fallen. This order was 
not much employed in Greece before the time of Alex- 
ander the great." — Myers. 

The Parthenon. — The finest specimen of Greek archi- 
tecture is the Parthenon, or temple of Pallas Athena, on 
the Acropolis. It was built in the Doric order of purest 
Pentelic marble, embellished by the sculptures of Phid- 
ias, and by bright colorings. The color is not seen now 
except in odd fragments dug from the ground, but all is 
a beautiful gold brown transformed by the Attic dust of 
ages. (See page 147, Mahaffy.) The renown of this 
masterpiece of architecture is not due to its vastness but 
to its marvelous symmetry, and the perfection of even 
the invisible parts. This extraordinary finish, which 
can only be seen from the roof, or by opening a wall, 
proves that the builders wrought for the glory of their 
god, and not for the praise of man. Longfellow has 
skillfully woven this thought into his poem of "The 
Builders: " 



63 



" In the elder days of art 

Builders wrought with greatest care 
Each minute and unseen part, 
For the gods are everywhere." 

(Page 97, Indiana Fifth Reader.) 

"The temple contained three statues of Minerva or 
Pallas Athena, one of olive wood so ancient that it was 
said to have fallen from heaven, one of marble and one 
of gold and ivory, the work of Phidias, and deemed, next 
to his statue of the Olympic Jupiter, the greatest triumph 
of sculpture." — Dr. Goldsmith. (See page 181, Barnes.) 

The wonderful frieze which ornamented the temple 
was also the work of Phidias. It represented a proces- 
sion of youths in an Athenian festival, which was cele- 
brated every four years in honor of the patron goddess 
of Athens. 

"After standing for more than two thousand years as 
a pagan temple, a Christian church and a Mohammedan 
mosque, it finally was made to serve as a Turkish pow- 
der magazine in a war with the Venetians in 1687. Dur- 
ing the progress of this contest a bomb fired the maga- 
zine, and more than half of this masterpiece of ancient 
art was shivered into fragments. The front is still quite 
perfect, and is the most prominent feature of the Acrop- 
olis at the present day. The larger part of the frieze is 
now. in the British museum, the Parthenon having been 
despoiled of its coronal of sculptures by Lord Elgin." — 
Myers . 

Temple of Diana. — "The temple of Diana at Ephesus 
was one of the oldest, as well as one of the most famous, 
of the sacred edifices of the Greeks. Crcesus gave lib- 
erally of his wealth to ornament the shrine. It was 



64 

known far and wide as one of the Seven Wonders of the 
World. Alexander placed within the shrine his own 
portrait, worth $30,000. The value of the gifts to the 
temple was beyond all calculation; kings and states vied 
with one another in splendid donations. Painters and 
sculptors were eager to have their masterpieces assigned 
a place within its walls, so that it became a great national 
gallery of paintings and statuary. The Grecian temples 
were, in a certain sense, banks of deposit. They con- 
tained special chambers or vaults for the safe-keeping of 
valuables . ' ' — -Myers . 

" Temple at Olympia was built of porous stone, the 
roof being tiled with Pentelic marble. It stood on the 
banks of the Alpheus, in a sacred grove of plane and 
olive trees. The statue of Jupiter, by Phidias, was so 
superstitiously venerated that not to have seen it was con- 
sidered a real calamity. The statue, sixty feet high, was 
seated on an elaborately sculptured throne of cedar, in- 
laid with gold, ivory, ebony and precious stones; like the 
statue of Athena in the Parthenon, the face, feet and 
body were of ivory; the eyes were brilliant jewels and 
the hair and beard pure gold. The drapery was beaten 
gold, enameled with flowers. One hand grasped a scep- 
ter, composed of precious metals and surmounted by an 
eagle; in the other, like Athena, he held a golden statue 
of victory. The statue was so high, in proportion to the 
building, that the Greeks were wont to say that ' if the 
god should attempt to rise he would burst open the roof.' 
The effect of its great size was to impress the beholder 
with the pent-up power and majesty of the greatest of the 
gods. A copy of the head of this statue is in the Vati- 



65 . 

can. The statue itself, removed to Constantinople by the 
Emperor Theodosius I, was lost in the disastrous fire 
(A. D. 475) which destroyed the library in that city. At 
the same time perished the Venus of Cnidos by Praxiteles, 
which the ancients ranked next to the Phidian Zeus and 
Athena . ' ' — Myers . 



DECLINE OF GREECE. 

"The Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 B. C), is the 
name given to that long struggle between the two great 
representatives of aristocracy and democracy — Sparta 
and Athens." A league including the most powerful 
states of continental Greece was formed to humble the 
power of the Athenians. "A slight cause sufficed to 
provoke hostilities." A dispute having arisen between 
Corinth and one of her island colonies — Cocyra, Athens 
favored the latter, and sent a fleet against the Corinth- 
ians. " Corinth complained to the Peloponnersian al- 
liance at Sparta. Other states brought charges against 
Athens and finally war was declared. 

11 A Spartan army was soon overrunning Attica, but 
Pericles gathered the people within the walls of Athens 
and confined himself to naval operations on the Pelop- 
onnesian coasts. He would not risk an engagement 
with the Spartans, replying to those who demanded to be 
led against the enemy, ' Trees cut down may shoot 
again, but men are not to be replaced.' 

" The crowded condition of the city brought on a pes- 
tilence, which carried off the inhabitants by thousands, 
and among them Pericles himself (429 B. C.) His 



66 

death left Athens in the hands of demagogues, who were 
ready to sacrifice the public interests to their own selfish 
purposes." Still Athens triumphed for a while. — 
Quackenbos. 

At the end of twenty-seven years of almost constant 
warfare, 404 B. C, the proud city was doomed. " Her 
treasury was empty, ber allies had forsaken her, Persian 
gold lent weight to the Lacedaemonian sword. Sparta 
having captured the Athenian squadron, blockaded the 
city itself. Famine threatened, and the imperial city 
surrendered 404 B.C. Her fortifications were destroyed 
and the Long Walls were demolished amid the insulting 
triumphs of music. 

Thus ended the supremacy of Athens as a naval 
power, but she still remained "mistress of Greece in art 
and literature." 

Oppressive Rule of Sparta. — Sparta had assumed the 
character of Liberator of Greece, but the cities found 
that they had simply exchanged masters. "Instead, 
however, of the rule of a polished state they now must 
submit to the harsh, rapacious laws of Sparta." 

"At Athens the democratic constitution was abolished 
and the government placed in the hands of thirty aristo- 
crats called the Thirty Tyrants." These men ruled with 
such notorious injustice and cruelty that their terror was 
quickly ended and the democracy re-established, 403 
B. C. — Quackenbos. 

Socrates. — "The unjust doom of the philosopher Soc- 
rates darkens the next page of Athenian history. He 
was the most enlightened of heathen sages, taught the 
immortality of the soul, and looked above the absurd 



67 . 

mythology of his native land for something higher and 
purer to believe. Charged with setting up new deities 
and corrupting the young, he was sentenced to drink the 
fatal hemlock.' In vain his friends provided means of 
escape and besought him to fly. He firmly refused to 
violate the laws, and calmly drained the cup of poison 
in the midst of his weeping associates." — Quackenbos. 

(Page 175, Barnes ; chapter xxiii, Miss Yonge's Y. 
Folks' H.) 

Xenophon and Plato were two of his distinguished dis- 
ciples. (See Retreat of the Ten Thousand, chapter xxii, 
Miss Yonge ; Guerber's Greek Stories.) 

Theban Rule.— (See Guerber and Miss Yonge.) When 
the oppressive rule of Sparta was at its height there arose 
in Thebes a great general Epaminondas, who made the 
Theban army the best in all Greece. "The famous vic- 
tory of Leuctra (371 B. C), in which four thousand 
Lacedaemonians, together with their king, were slain, 
secured for Thebes the sovereignty of Greece." On this 
famous field the Spartans were beaten for the first time 
in history. Epaminondas drew up his troops in a column 
fifty men deep, with which he dashed at the middle of 
the Spartan army, which was only three lines deep. The 
plan succeeded perfectly. The Spartan king was carried 
dying from the field, and Epaminondas had won the 
most difficult victory ever won by a Greek. So far from 
being uplifted by it, he only replied that his greatest 
pleasure was in thinking how it would gratify his father 
and mother. (See page 147, Barnes.) 

When the defeat became known in Sparta the fathers 



68 

and relations of those who had fallen in battle went to 
the temples to thank the gods and congratulate each 
other upon their glory and good fortune, whilst the rela- 
tions of those who had escaped were overwhelmed with 
grief and affliction. 

The law of the Spartans condemned the survivors of a 
defeat to be degraded from all honor. They were to ap- 
pear publicly in mean, dirty and patched garments, and 
to go half shaved, and whoever met them in the streets 
might insult and beat them without their daring to make 
any resistance. On this occasion such numbers had in- 
curred the penalties of the law, many of whom were of 
the best families, that they feared the execution of it 
might excite some public commotion. The king was 
urged to abolish the law, but not wishing to do that, he 
made a public declaration that the law should lie dor- 
mant for that single day, and thus saved the citizens 
from infamy. 

Epaminondas, the victorious general of the Thebans, 
now sought to restore the freedom of the enslaved states 
of Greece and form a union against the further tyranny 
of Sparta. Athens at first aided him, and then, jealous 
of his success, sided with the Lacedsemons. 

A battle was fought at Mantinea, 362 B. C, and in 
the very moment of victory, Epaminondas fell pierced 
by a javalin. " The weapon remained in his breast, nor 
would his friends remove it, knowing that he would die 
the instant it was withdrawn. The Theban chief bore 
the agony of his wound until assured that his triumph 
was complete. 'Then, all is well,' he said, and drawing 
out the fatal spear-head, breathed his last. In answer 



69 - 

to the sorrowing spectators who lamented that so great a 
man should die childless Epaminondas exclaimed, 'I 
leave you two fair daughters — -Leuctra and Mantinea.' " 
—Adapted from Goldsmith. 

" Epaminondas was a pure, unselfish patriot, a refined, 
moral, and generous citizen. Cicero calls him the great- 
est man Greece ever produced. 

"The battle of Mantinea, which all Greece watched in 
suspense, was indecisive in its results. Thebes, the 
head of Greece while Epaminondas lived, now sank to 
her former level. The glory of Hellas had departed. 
Exhausted by these struggles, and torn by the social and 
sacred wars that followed, she rapidly declined. Her 
ruin was due to the mutual jealousies of the several states. 
Disunited and demoralized Greece at last lay prostrate 
and ready for the spoiler — -and in Philip, of Macedon, 
the spoiler was soon to appear.'' — Quackenbos. 



THE AGES. 



BRYANT. 



And virtue can not dwell with slaves, nor reign 
G'er those who cower to take a tyrant's yoke: 

She left the down-trod nations in disdain, 
And flew to Greece, when liberty awoke, 

New-born, amid those beautiful vales, and broke 
Scepter and chain with her fair, youthful hands, 

As the rock shivers in the thunder-stroke. 
And lo! in full-grown strength, an empire stands 
Of leagued and rival states, the wonder of the lands. 



70 



O Greece, thy flourishing cities were a spoil 

Unto each other ; thy hard hand oppressed 
And crushed the helpless ; thou didst make thy soil 

Drunk with the blood of those that loved thee best ; 
And thou didst drive, from thy unnatural breast, 

Thy just and brave to die in distant climes ; 
Earth shuddered at thy deeds, and sighed for rest 

From thine abominations ; after times 

That yet shall read thy tale, will tremble at thy crimes. 

Yet there was that within thee which has saved 

Thy glory and redeemed thy blotted name ; 
The story of thy better deeds, engraved 

On fame's unmoldering pillar, puts to shame 
Our chiller virtue ; the high art to tame 

The whirlwind of the passions was thine own ; 
And the pure ray that from thy bosom came, 

Far over many a land and age has shone, 

And mingles with the light that beams from God's own throne. 



THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. 

Macedonia was a mountainous country north of Thes- 
saly. Its early history is uncertain, but though the 
Macedonians themselves spoke a rude language and were 
deemed by the Greeks as almost barbarians, their kings 
claimed to have descended from Hercules, and were per- 
mitted to take part in the Olympic games. 

Philip of Macedon. — During the period of Theban su- 
premacy in Greece there were rival competitors who 
claimed the throne of Macedonia and the country was 
distracted by civil wars. The Thebans sent an army into 
Macedonia to support the cause of the rightful heirs, and 
Philip, then a boy, was sent as a hostage to Thebes. 



71 . 

At the death of his brother, Philip became king. He 
was twenty-four years of age and had received a consid- 
erable part of his education under Epaminondas at The- 
bes. "There 'he became acquainted with the military 
system of the Thebans, studied the Greek character, and 
acquired that diplomacy which afterward gained him 
many a bloodless victory." 

Formation of Phalanx. — His first care in taking up 
the reins of government was to gain the affections of his 
people and to raise their spirits, for they had become 
very much disheartened by heavy losses in battle. " His 
next step was to train and exercise them and reform 
their discipline." "Philip improved on the Theban 
tactics by instituting the Macedonian phalanx, a body of 
16,000 heavily armed foot soldiers." Each soldier car- 
ried a shield and a spear twenty-four feet long. When 
they advanced, thej r were taught to lock their shields to- 
gether, so as to form a wall, and they stood in ranks, one 
behind the other, so that the front row had four spear 
points projecting before them. (See page 149, Barnes.) 

Philip also formed a guard of honor at his court com- 
posed of the sons of the nobles. Thus there grew up in 
his service a trusty band of followers who were his com- 
rades, his friends, and his officers. 

' ■ In less than two years he triumphed over the enemies 
in his own kingdom and was ready to enlarge its boun- 
daries. He availed himself of the quarrels of the Greeks 
to seize their colonial cities, conquered Thessaly, and took 
possession of the rich gold mines of Thrace. Through 
the folly of the Thebans he was invited to interfere in 
the so-called sacred war, and as a victor he was rewarded 



72 

by a seat in the Am-phic-ty-on'-ic Council." (See page 
115, Barnes. ) 

Thus he gained a footing which forwarded his scheme 
for subjugating the entire peninsula. 

"The Athenians, meanwhile", the only people that 
might have checked Philip's career, were cajoled by the 
crafty king and remained inactive. There was one at 
Athens, however, that saw through Philip's wiles — the 
eloquent Demosthenes, who, for years, struggled nobly 
against him in defense of Grecian liberty." — Compiled 
from Goldsmith and Quackenbos. (See page 262, Miss 
Yonge. ) 

Cheer one' a. — Roused at last by the burning eloquence 
of Demosthenes, Athens and Thebes made a desperate 
stand at Chaeronea, in Bceotia, against the Macedonian 
monarch, who had passed Thermopylce and was occupy- 
ing the cities of Greece. But the charge of the phalanx 
proved irresistible. The allies were totally defeated ; 
and while Demosthenes, brave as he had been in words, 
fled from the field, the Sacred Band of Epaminondas was 
cut down to a man, thus gloriously dying with the inde- 
pendence of Hellas, 338 B. C. Philip thus became 
master of Greece, and, by a council of all the states ex- 
cept Sparta, was appointed to lead their united forces 
against Persia. But before the preparations for the ex- 
pedition were completed, Philip met his death by the 
dagger of an assassin when celebrating his daughter's 
nuptials, 336 B. C. 

(See anecdotes of Philip: Barnes, Miss Yonge, Guer- 
ber. ) 

Alexander the Great. — Philip's son, known in history 



73 * 

as Alexander the Great, succeeded to the throne when 
he was but twenty years old. Certain noted events 
transpiring on the day of his birth, namely, the victory 
gained by Philip's chief general, and the winning of the 
prize at the Olympic games, also the burning the tem- 
ple of Diana at Ephesus, were considered, in that super- 
stitious age, premonitions of future greatness. 
! In order to insure the accomplishment of these predic- 
tions, Philip obtained for his son the best masters, and 
at the age of fifteen placed him under the care of Aris- 
totle, pupil of Plato, and one of the greatest and best of 
philosophers. Alexander was an apt and attentive stu- 
dent, and easily mastered not only sciences but polite 
literature also. " He was greatly delighted with Homer's 
Iliad, and, it is thought, modeled himself upon the war- 
like heroes of that poem." The character of Achilles, 
said to have been his own ancestor, he considered most 
worthy of his imitation. 

" In early life Alexander gave proof of his military 
genius. He excelled in all manly sports, and when very 
young subdued a fiery steed called Buceph'alus, or Bull- 
head, because of a white mark like a bull's face on its 
forehead." The horse was so strong and restive that 
nobody could manage it, and Philip was sending it away, 
when Alexander begged leave to try. " First he turned 
his head to the sun, having perceived that its antics 
were caused by fear of its own shadow ; then stroking 
and caressing it as he held the reins, he gently dropped 
his fluttering mantle and leaped on its back, sitting 
firm through all its leaps and bounds, but using neither 
whip nor spur nor angry voice, till at last the creature 



74 

was brought to perfect obedience. This gentle courage 
and firmness so delighted Philip that he embraced the 
boy with tears of joy, and gave him the horse. Buceph- 
alus afterwards carried his master through many cam- 
paigns, but never allowed any other to mount him." — 
Miss Yonge. 

"At an early age Alexander was introduced by his 
father into public life. He received the Persian ambas- 
sadors when not quite sixteen, and astonished them by 
his pertinent inquiries respecting the political condition 
and revenues of Persia. Soon after he was appointed 
regent of Macedon, while his father was besieging By- 
zantium. Two years after he commanded the left wing 
of the Macedonian army at the battle of Chserone'a,. and 
cut down the sacred Theban band." — Goldsmith. 

"As soon as Alexander was proclaimed king he 
marched to Corinth, and the assembled states of Greece 
were again compelled to recognize the supremacy of 
Macedon, while they made him commander-in-chief of 
the Grecian forces in the projected enterprise against the 
Persians." 

Before leaving for Persia, however, he determined to 
put his own country into a secure condition ; so he turned 
northward to subdue the wild tribes in Thrace. He was 
gone four months, "and the Thebans, misled by a false 
report of the young prince's death, rebelled. Suddenly 
Alexander appeared before the city, carried it by storm, 
and razed it to the ground, sparing only the house of the 
poet Pindar. The Thebans that survived were sold 
into slavery, and all Greece, terror-stricken by this fear- 



75 

ful example, abjectly submitted to the conqueror." — 
Quackenbos. ( Story of Diogenes, page 275, Miss Yonge. ) 

Invasion of Persia. — "Being desirous to consult the 
oracle at Delphi as to his expedition into Asia, Alexander 
visited the temple of Apollo. But as it was an unlucky 
day, the priestess refused to approach the shrine. The 
king grasped her arm and drew her forward. ' Ah! my 
son,' said she, ' you are irresistible/ l Enough,' ex- 
claimed Alexander, 'I desire no other response.' 

" Having completed his preparations and made his 
father's councilor governor of Macedon in his absence, 
Alexander started for the East, 334 B. C." With the 
small army of but 30,000 foot and 5,000 cavalry, he was 
hoping to subdue a country "that stretched from the 
iEgean to Scythia and from the Euxine to the African 
deserts. Such was his liberality in gifts before he went 
away, that when he was asked what he had left for him- 
self, he answered, 'my hopes.' His intentions were not 
merely to conquer that great world, but to tame it, bring 
it into order, and teach the men there the wisdom and 
free spirit of the great world; for he had learned from 
Aristotle that to make men true, brave, virtuous and free 
was the way to be god-like. It was in his favor that the 
direct line of Persian kings had failed and that there had 
been wars and factions all through the last reign ."— M iss 
Yonge. 

. Alexander Crosses the Hellespont. — Alexander steered 
his own vessel across the Hellespont and was the first to 
leap ashore. He first visited the plain of Troy and all 
the scenes described in the Iliad and then offered sacri- 
fices at the mound, said to be the tomb of Achilles. 



76 

The Persian forces gave battle to the Greeks on the 
banks of the river Granicus, a stream flowing into the 
Euxine. "Alexander wore a white plume in his helm it 
so that all might know him. It was a grand victory, 
though not without much hard fighting. Alexander was 
once in great danger, but was saved by Clitus, the son of 
his nurse. The Persian army was so entirely routed that 
no army was left in Asia Minor, and the satrap killed 
himself in despair. Alexander forbade his troops to 
plunder the country, telling them that it was his own, 
and that the people were as much his subjects as they 
were. Sardis and Ephesus fell into his hands without 
a blow; and to assist in rebuilding the great temple of 
Diana, he granted all the tribute hitherto paid to the 
great king." — Miss Yonge. 

"On the approach of winter, leave of absence was 
given to the Macedonians to visit their families; and they 
on their return spread the fame of their victories through 
all Greece. Alexander did not spend the winter in idle- 
ness; he extended his conquest over several minor prov- 
inces, arranged the government of those already sub- 
dued, and removed his headquarters to Gordium, a 
central city of Asia Minor." 

"Gordium was celebrated as the residence of king 
Midas, and the line of Phrygian kings descended from 
him." Here he was shown the famous Gordian knots, 
which, it was said, no one could untie except the one 
destined to be the conqueror of Asia. "How the king 
effected his purpose is uncertain. Some say that he cut 
the knot with his sword, others, that he really solved 
the difficulty; certain it is they believed him to have 



77 

fulfilled the conditions of the oracle, and to be conse- 
quently the destined lord of Asia." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

" In the spring he dashed down through the Taurus 
mountains, to take possession of the city of Tarsus." 
By this rapid march Memnon, the Persian general, was 
prevented from carrying out his plan for devastating 
the country. "The fatigue of the march and the heat 
of the weather overpowered the young king; hoping to 
refresh himself, he imprudently plunged into the cold 
waters of the Cnidus, a mountain stream, and was in- 
stantaneously seized with violent fever, which threatened 
fatal consequences. While suffering under this disease, 
Alexander exhibited a noble example of intrepid courage 
and generous confidence. He received a letter, denounc- 
ing his physician Philip as a traitor, who had been bribed 
to take him off by poison, at the very moment that the 
physician stood by his bedside with the medicinal 
draught. The king, presenting the letter to Phillip, un- 
hesitatingly drank off the portion; his confidence was 
amply repaid, for the medicine brought about- a favor- 
able change, and in a short time he was restored to his 
anxious army." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

Battle of Issus. — Darius, the Persian king, was now 
advancing with a large army, "in which was a band of 
Spartans, who hated the Persians less than they did the 
Macedonians. The Persian march was a splendid sight. 
The army never marched until sunrise, when silver altars 
bearing the sacred fire were carried first, attended by a 
band of youths, one for each day in the year ; then fol- 
lowed the chariot of the sun drawn by white horses, 
after which came a horse consecrated to the sun, and led 



78 

by white-robed attendants. " The king himself sat in a 
high, richly adorned chariot, wearing a purple mantle, 
encrusted with precious stones and encompassed with his 
immortal band, in robes adorned with gold, and carry- 
ing silver-handled lances. In covered chariots were his 
mother, his wives and children, their baggage occupy- 
ing six hundred mules and three hundred camels, all 
protected by so enormous an army every one thought 
the Macedonians must be crushed." — Miss Yonge. 

Nevertheless Alexander attacked them at Issus and 
gained a great victory. "When Darius saw his immor- 
tals giving way he fled from the field with so much ra- 
pidity that his chariot, bow, and royal mantle fell into 
the hands of the victors. " His army, even to the cav- 
alry, imitated his example. "The Persian camp, with 
all its enormous wealth, was the immediate result of the 
victory. Among the captives were the mother, queen, 
and daughters of Darius, whom Alexander treated with 
the greatest kindness and generosity." — Dr. Goldsmith. 

"He showed the mother of Darius special kindness 
and respect, even more than she had ever received from 
her own kindred. He never grieved her but once, and 
that was when he showed her a robe spun, woven, and 
worked by his mother and sisters for himself, and offered 
to have her grandchildren taught to make the like. She, 
however, thought he meant to make slaves of them, as 
Persian ladies were not brought up to work; so that he 
had to reassure her, and tell her that the distaff, loom, 
and needle were held to give honor to Greek ladies." — 
Miss Yonge. 

Siege of Tyre. — Darius had fled beyond the rivers and 



79 - 

Alexander thought it best to reduce the western part of 
the empire before following him. The greater part of 
Syria and Phoenicia submitted to Alexander without 
opposition. Tyre alone closed her gates against him. 

The city was built on an island, half a mile from 
shore and was fortified by lofty walls, their foundations 
secured by butresses projecting into the sea. The in- 
habitants relying upon the security of their situation 
set him at defiance. 

Alexander immediately made preparations to besiege 
the town, but soon found the task the most difficult one 
he had undertaken. It was accomplished by the aid of 
the Sidonian fleet after a siege of seven months. He 
constructed a causeway two hundred feet wide and half 
a mile long over which he rolled his ponderous machines 
and breached the wall, thus carrying the place by 
desperate assault. "Eight thousand of the inhabitants 
were slain and thirty thousand sold into slavery, a terri- 
ble warning to those cities that should dare to close their 
gates against the Macedonian." — Myers. 

Jerusalem .—-" From Phoenicia, Alexander marched to 
Palestine and found no town to resist his progress but 
Gaza, which was bravely defended by the governor." 
It was finally taken by storm, and a cruel slaughter was 
made of the citizens. "Alexander next approached 
Jerusalem expecting another tedious siege. Instead of 
this, he beheld a long procession in white' bordered with 
blue coming out of the gates to meet him. All the 
Priests and Levites, in their robes, came forth, headed by 
Jaddua, the High Priest, in his beautiful raiment with 
the golden mitre on his head inscribed with the name 



80 

'Holiness unto the Lord.' When. Alexander beheld 
the sight, he threw himself from his horse, and adored 
the name on the mitre. He told his officers that before 
he set out from home, when he was considering his journey, 
just such a form as he now beheld had come and bidden 
him fear not for he should be led into the East and all Persia 
should be delivered to him. Then the High Priest took 
him to the outer court of the temple and showed him 
the very prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah where his 
own conquests were foretold." — Miss Yonge. 

"Judea now belonged to Alexander, but he treated 
the people well, allowing them to retain their own relig- 
ion and laws. He excused the payment of tribute once 
in seven years, that they might obey the law of Moses, 
in letting the land lie idle every seventh year. They 
had only exchanged masters, and Alexander treated 
them, perhaps, more kindly than the Persians had 
done." — Edith Ralph. 

"Egypt next attracted the attention of Alexander and 
thither he led his victorious army, but the Egyptians 
never had been very faithful subjects of the Persians, by 
whom their country had been oppressed and their relig- 
ion insulted. They, therefore, submitted to Alexander, 
and this important country was acquired without the 
loss of a single man or the shedding of a drop of blood. 
Ever anxious to forward the interests of commerce, Al- 
exander selected the site of Alexandria as the best place 
for a commercial city. The wisdom of his choice soon 
appeared, for the new city in a very few years became 
one of the most prosperous commercial marts in the 
world. 



81 * 

"The fame of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, situated in 
the oasis of the great desert, induced Alexander to pay a 
visit to this celebrated oracle. He accordingly made his 
way thither with a chosen band. The Macedonians were 
astonished at beholding the fertility of the oasis, which 
seemed like a green island in the sandy ocean." — Dr. 
Goldsmith. 

Eighty priests, with maidens dancing about them, 
came to meet him, bearing the emblem of their god, a 
golden disc adorned with precious stones and placed in 
a huge golden ship. Alexander was taken alone to the 
innermost shrine, where he must have heard much to 
exalt himself , forever after this he wore ram's horns on 
his helmet, which were the sign of the god, and seemed 
to consider himself no mere man, but the son of Jupiter, 
like Bacchus or Hercules of old. — Compiled from Miss 
Yonge. 

' 'Alexander then returned across the desert to Mem- 
phis, and having provided for the future government of 
Egypt, brought his army back to Syria." — Goldsmith. 

Battle of Arbe'la. — The next summer he set out for 
the East to encounter the Persian army under Darius. 
"A bridge was thrown across the Euphrates, but the 
Tigris was forded by the foot soldiers, holding their 
shields above their heads out of the water." — Miss Yonge. 

On the other side Darius was waiting with an army 
over " a million strong, besides being provided with ele- 
phants and chariots, armed with scythes. But this army 
was an inert mass, without spirit or energy, ready to 



82 

fight, indeed, for their sovereign but as ready to fly when 
he fell or retreated. 

"Alexander came in sight of the enemy at too late an 
hour, and both armies spent the night on the field of 
battle. The Macedonians, not' being formed in line, 
were permitted to sleep, but Darius, fearing that if his 
ranks were disturbed it would be impossible to reorgan- 
ize such a mighty host, compelled his men to stand to 
their arms all night." — Goldsmith. 

"Alexander's general, Parmenio, wished him to take 
advantage of the darkness and attack the Persians at 
once; but he only answered, ' it would be base to steal a 
victory.' When Parmenio came in the morning to say 
that all was ready, he found his master fast asleep, and 
asked him how he could rest so calmly with one of the 
greatest battles in the world before him. ' How could we 
not be calm,' replied Alexander, 'since the enemy is 
coming to deliver himself into our hands.'" — Miss 
Yonge. 

" Alexander wore in this battle a short coat girt close 
around him; over that a breast-plate of linen strongly 
quilted, which he had taken in the battle of Issus. His 
helmet was of polished iron, and shone like silver. To 
this was fixed a gorget, set with precious stones. His 
sword was light and of the finest temper. The belt he 
wore was superb and was given him by the Rhodians as 
a mark of respect. In reviewing and exercising he spared 
Bucephalus, but he rode him in battle, and when he 
mounted his back it was always a signal for the onset." 
— Goodrich. 

Darius intended to fold the wings of his army around 



83 * 

the Greeks, " but Alexander, foreseeing this, had warned 
his men to be ready to face about on any side. He then 
drew them up in shape of a wedge, and broke into the 
very heart of the Immortal band, and was on the point 
of taking Darius prisoner when he was called off to assist 
Parmenio, whose division had been broken, so that the 
camp was threatened. Alexander's presence soon made 
the victory complete. Darius, however, had time to es- 
cape and was galloping on a swift horse to the Armenian 
mountains. ' ' — Miss Yonge. 

He was soon afterwards treacherously slain by his own 
satraps, who were endeavoring to escape from the pursu-. 
ing Macedonians. " Darius w r as in the last agony of 
death when a Macedonian soldier came up and brought 
him a little water to cool his raging thirst; he expressed 
great anxiety to see his generous conqueror, and thank 
him in person for the kindness that had been shown to 
his mother and family, but before Alexander came up he 
expired." — Goldsmith. "Alexander caused his body to 
be embalmed and buried in the sepulchers of the Persian 
kings . ' ' — Miss Yonge . 

Entrance into Babylon. — "Alexander was now declared 
king of all Asia, and, though this might seem the sum- 
mit of his glory, it was the point at which his char- 
acter begins to decline. "He, however, continued his 
conquests." — Goodrich. " He marched in through the 
brazen gates of Babylon, when the streets were strewn 
with flowers, and presents of lions and leopards borne 
forth to greet the conqueror. The great temple of Bel 
had been partly ruined by the fire-worshiping Persians, 
and Alexander greatly pleased the Babylonians by de- 



84 

ereeing that they might restore it with his aid." — Miss 
Yonge. 

Susa and Persepolis. — " After staying thirty days in 
Babylon, he went on to Susa, where he found the brazen 
statues which Xerxes had carried away from the sack of 
Athens. He sent them home again to show the Greeks 
he had avenged their cause." — Miss Yonge. "He also 
seized incredible quantities of gold and silver ($57,000,- 
000 it is said), the treasure of the Great King. From 
Susa his march was to Persepolis, where he secured a 
treasure twice as great. Here he wreaked vengeance, for 
all Greece had suffered at the hands of the Persians. 
Many of the inhabitants were massacred and others sold 
into slavery; while the palaces of the Persian king were 
given to the flames. Alexander now assumed the pomp 
and state of an Oriental monarch, and required the most 
obsequeous homage from all who approached him." — 
Myers. 

The Greeks now wished to return home and keep all 
of the empire subject to them; but this was not Alexan- 
der's plan. His ambition was to spread Greek wisdom 
and training over all the world, and to rule Persians as 
well as Greeks for their own good. He permitted the 
Greeks to return home with pay, rewards, and honors, 
but he retained his Macedonians. The adoption of the 
Persian dress and customs, and conferring marks of 
honor on Persian nobles aroused the jealousy of several 
of his captains. "There were murmurs and Parmenio 
was accused of being engaged in a conspiracy and was 
put to death. It was the first sad stain on Alexander's 
life, and he fell into a fierce angry mood, being fretted 



85 . 

by the murmurs of the Macedonians and harrassed by 
the 'difficulties of the wild mountainous countries on the 
border of Persia where he went to hunt down the last 
Persians who held out against him." — Miss Yonge. 

Conquest in Aryan Home. — '-'After subduing many tribes 
that dwelt about the Caspian Sea and among the moun- 
tainous region of what is now Afghanistan, he boldly 
conducted his soldiers over the snowy and dangerous 
passes of the Hindu Kush, and descended into the region 
described as the first home of the Aryan people." — 
Myers . 

"A mountain-fortress on a steep rock surrounded with 
snow, for a time delayed his progress, its defenders when 
summoned to yield, tauntlingly asking whether he had 
winged soldiers." " Irritated by this taunt, Alexander 
offered large sums to those who would scale the cliff." 
"Three hundred picked men, driving iron spikes into 
the ice-bound face of the rock and drawing themselves 
up with ropes, made the ascent under cover of the night, 
and at dawn the barbarians surrendered. Among the 
captives was the Princess Roxana, ' the Pearl of the 
East,' who became the bride of Alexander." — Quacken- 
bos. 

Soon after this exploit he was foolish enough to in- 
dulge in a wine-drinking banquet, where a quarrel arose 
between himself and Clitus, his dearest friend, and the 
favorite companion, who had saved his life at the battle 
of Gran'icus. Both were flushed with wine, and when 
Clitus, jealous of the fawning flattery of his Persian sub- 
jects, taunted the king of "his inferiority to his father 
and ascribed the victories to the valor of himself and 



86 

his brother soldiers, Alexander, stung to madness, 
seized a javelin and laid the injudicious censurer dead 
at his feet. Scarcely, however, had he perpetrated the 
crime when he was seized with remorse; his attendants 
could with difficulty prevent him from laying violent 
hands on himself; he was hurried to his chamber, where 
he remained for three days inconsolable; and it was not 
without difficulty that his mind was again restored to its 
wonted composure." — Goldsmith. i 

Alexander in India. — "After having established nu- 
merous cities in this remote region and peopled them 
with captives and followers who had become weary of 
war, he recrossed the mountains and led his army down 
upon the rich plains. of India." — Myers. " Here he re- 
ceived the submission of thirty-five cities, and founded 
two more, one of which he named Bucephalus, in honor 
of his noble horse, which died in the midst of battle 
without a wound." — Miss Yonge. " Porus, an Indian 
monarch of gigantic size and strength, mounted on his 
elephant, bravely disputed the march of the invaders. 
Being captured and brought before Alexander he was 
asked what he desired. 'To be treated as a king,' he 
replied." — Quackenbos. Alexander granted his request, 
restored his dominions, making him, however, one of 
his tributaries. , 

They had now reached the banks of the Hy'phasis, a 
branch of the Indus, and the conqueror wished to push 
on to the Ganges, but his Macedonians absolutely re- 
fused to go on further, so he was forced to return. 

Instead of going directly back he built boats and de- 
scended the Indus, At the head of the delta he founded 



87 

a city called Alexandria, which " was to be to the trade 
of India what Alexandria on the Nile was to that of 
Egypt." — Myers. Then proceeding to the mouth of the 
river he and' his companions rejoiced to find the sea, 
though they were amazed at -the ebbing and flowing of 
the tides, never having seen any in their own Mediterra- 
nean. 

Re-discovery of Sea Route. — " He now dispatched his 
trusty admiral, Nearchus, with a considerable fleet, to 
explore the sea, and to determine whether it communi- 
cated with the Euphrates. At the same time he resolved 
to return to Persia along the sea coast, both for the pur- 
pose of keeping up a connection with his fleet and sub- 
duing the intervening nations. His march thus lay 
through the ancient Gedrosia, now Beloochistan, a re- 
gion frightful with burning deserts." — Myers. "Their 
sufferings from thirst, the heat of the sun, and the burn- 
ing sand exceeded anything they had hitherto experi- 
enced, but the sight of their sovereign sharing in their 
toils, and submitting to equal privations without a mur- 
mur, cheered them to fresh exertions." — Goldsmith. At 
length they reached the shores of the Persian Gulf, and 
to Alexander's unbounded joy, "he was joined by Near- 
chus, who had made the voyage from the Indus success- 
fully, and thus rediscovered one of the most important 
maritime routes of the world, the knowledge of which, 
among the Western nations, was never again to be lost." 
— Myers . 

Return March. — The march of the army through Per- 
sia was a triumphal procession, and at Susa "he made 
a nuptial feast for the newly-married people, and nine 



88 

thousand persons sat down to the entertainment. Each 
one was honored with a golden cup." — Goodrich 

Death at Babylon. — "On his return to Babylon Alex- 
ander determined to make that place his capital and res- 
idence, and set about various plans for carrying this into 
effect." — Goodrich. Before he could accomplish them, 
and just before setting out upon a new expedition into 
Arabia, he was seized by a fever, brought on, doubtless, 
by the unhealthy climate and his own excesses, and died, 
323 B. C, in the thirty-second year of his age. "His 
body was carried to Alexandria, Egypt, and there en- 
closed in a golden coffin, over which was raised a splen- 
did mausoleum." — Myers. 

Character of Alexander. — "Thus perished prematurely 
this extraordinary chieftain in the vigor of manhood and 
in the midst of ambitious plans. During his short reign 
of a dozen years he made Macedonia the mistress of half 
the world. Yet, though lord of this immense empire, 
he was slave to his own passions. He surrendered him- 
self to dissipation, and in the heat of anger committed 
deeds that he remembered with remorse. 

"Occasionally Alexander displayed unusual greatness 
of soul, many examples of which have been given. It 
is told that a cup of water was once offered to him in the 
desert, but seeing his soldiers gaze upon it with eager- 
ness, he poured it on the ground, lest the sight of his 
thirst should aggravate the suffering of his men." — 
Quackenbos. 

Results of Alexander's Conquests. — "Other invaders 
have passed over the plains of Asia, both in ancient and 
modern times, but their career has been like the poison 



89 

wind of the desert; traceable only by the ruin and deso- 
lation that marked their progress. The march of Alex- 
ander was not wholly attended by evil, for every in- 
vading army must cause calamity, but the monuments 
of his glorious career were seventy cities founded under 
his auspices, commercial marts established on all the 
principal rivers, and improved systems of agriculture 
and social life taught to wandering tribes." — Goldsmith. 
(See Myers. ) As Alexander's son was a helpless infant, 
the vast dominions were divided among his generals. 
They soon quarreled, and sanguinary wars desolated the 
empire. 

Greece and Macedonia. — The Greek cities continued to 
be under the control of the Macedonian kings, but they 
were never loyal subjects. When the Roman power 
arose the Macedonians sent aid to Carthage, thus incur- 
ring the anger of Rome, which resulted in the subjection 
to the Italian power (148 B. C). "The dissensions 
among the Hellenic people led them to become in the 
hands of intriguing Rome, weapons first for crushing 
Macedonia, and then for grinding each other to pieces." 
Myers. Corinth, at this time the most splendid city of 
all Greece, was taken by the Roman army, and laid in 
ashes (146 B. C. ). Its commercial superiority was trans- 
ferred to the islands of Rhodes and Delos, and the won- 
derful works of art, which beautified the city, were car- 
ried to Italy. 

Thus Ancient Greece expired. Henceforth it was sim- 
ply a Roman province. 

Alexandria, the seaport of Egypt, situated on the Ro- 
setta, mouth of the Nile, was founded by Alexander the 



90 

Great just after his conquest of Tyre in (332 B. C). The 
wisdom of the choice soon became evident for in a few 
years Alexandria became the meeting place of the East 
and the West and one of the most prosperous commercial 
marts of the world. 

When Alexander's empire was divided among his gen- 
erals Egypt fell to the lot of Ptolemy. He was a wise, 
clear-headed man, with much of Alexander's spirit of 
teaching and improving the people under him. The 
new city of Alexandria was his capital, and here he 
founded a flourishing Greek kingdom. The Egyptians, 
protected in their ancient religion, laws, and customs, 
became faithful subjects. (Having conquered Syria, 
Phoenicia, and a few other neighboring countries, Ptol- 
emy transported one hundred thousand Jews to Alexan- 
dria. ) Finding many of their brethren there they readily 
made themselves at home in Egypt. They had a temple 
similar to the one at Jerusalem, and for their use the 
Old Testament was translated into Greek (275-250 B. C. ) 
for even Jews spoke Greek. Thus the Greeks for the 
first time heard of the true God, and Alexander's dream 
of blending the races of the East and the West had come 
to be realized. 

Under the rule of the Ptolemies Alexandria became 
the great emporium of exchange between Asia and Eu- 
rope. A superb light-house, known as one of the Seven 
Wonders of the World, stood at the entrance of the har- 
bor to guide the ships of the world, and a canal to the 
Red Sea facilitated trade with Arabia and India. 

That Alexandria might also be an intellectual center, 
Ptolemy founded' the famous museum or college which 



91 . 

became the University of the East, and almost as famous 
as Athens, and established the Alexandrian library. 
Poets, artists and philosophers were encouraged to settle 
at Alexandria, and at one time there were as many as 
fourteen thousand persons iir attendance at the Univer- 
sity. While wars shook Europe and Asia, scholars of 
all departments of learning found quiet and safety upon 
the peaceful banks of the Nile. Greek architects had 
also contributed to the beauty of the city. Temples, 
palaces, obelisks and theaters adorned it, and, centrally 
located in the midst of gardens and fountains, stood the 
mausoleum erected as Alexander's shrine. 

Following the first three Ptolemies were ten weak- 
minded successors, under whose rule Alexandria com- 
menced to decline. After the death of Cleopatra, the 
last of the Ptolemies, Egypt became a province of Rome. 
Alexandria remained a seat of learning during the best 
days of Rome. 

In the seventh century, A. D., it was captured by the 
Arabs, who brought it under the Mohammedan rule. It 
is said that "the flames of its four thousand baths were 
fed for six months with the priceless manuscripts from 
the library of the Ptolemies." It is now, like all Moham- 
medan cities, of very little importance in the world, 
though its harbor is next to Marseilles in size. 



PART II. 



HISTORY OF ROME. 



THE GOLDEN AGE. 

Physical Italy. — Italy is a southern peninsula of Eu- 
rope, lying between the Tuscan and Adriatic seas, and 
separated from the countries on the north by the Alps, 
the highest range of mountains in Europe. " These 
mountains form a semicircle, coming down quite to the 
sea on the west, thus separating Italy from Gaul, as well 
as Germany, by a barrier of great difficulty; but on the 
east they open by low and easy passes to the valleys of 
the Save and the Danube. 

"The great mountain chain of Italy is that of the 
Apennines, extending southeasterly the whole extent of 
the peninsula. The mountains of Sicily are a continu- 
ation of this chain. This island was, no doubt, a part 
of the mainland, but was torn from it by some convul- 
sion of nature. 

"Italy differs from the other peninsula of Europe, 
being long and narrow in shape. It stretches into the 

(93) 



94 

sea in a general southeasterly direction, at its extremity 
bending sharply to the south, so as to present, rudely, 
the shape of a boot, the heel of which is turned toward 
Greece." The great basin between the Alps and the 
northern Apennines is drained by the Po, and is one of 
the most fertile valleys of Europe. 

" In Italy proper there are west of the Apennines three 
principal river systems, the seat in modern times of the 
three great cities of Florence, Rome, and Naples." The 
fertile soil of these valleys, combined with the mild cli- 
mate, influenced by the mountain barriers and the prox- 
imity of the ocean, led the early people of Italy to become 
cultivators of the soil, though the care of cattle was a 
leading part of their industry. "Barley and spelt were 
their principal crops ; they cultivated the vine at a very 
early date and received the olive from the Greeks." 

"The coast of Italy was not, like Greece, indented 
with deep bays, hence the people were not originally 
seamen." The situation of Rome is an admirable one 
for commerce, and it was from that industry that Rome 
gained its first impulse to greatness. — -Compiled from 
Allen. 

Contrast between Greece and Italy. (See page 204; 
Barnes. ) 

Founding of Rome. — "There were more than twenty 
different accounts of the way in which Rome was found- 
ed, but they all agree in representing its founder and 
first king as Romulus, who was believed to be a son of 
the god Mars." — Allen; Barnes' Gen. His., page 205. 

"The original city was on the Palatine Hill. This 
city was called Roma Quadrata, or Square Rome. Some 



95 . 

massive walls of this early town have been discovered in 
recent years. By degrees the town outgrew its walls and 
spread over the surrounding heights, and then united 
with a Sabine city on the Quirinal. In the valley be- 
tween the Palatine and the Quirinal, swampy and sub- 
ject to overflow, was the Forum or market-place. Beside 
it, upon a spot somewhat more elevated, a space was en- 
closed called the Comitium, for assemblies. The citadel 
of the new city was upon a spur of the Quirinal called 
the-Capitoline." — Allen. 

Conquest by Etruscans. — The rising city was in its 
turn conquered by the Etruscans, a people who lived be- 
tween the Arno and the Tiber, in the country now called 
Tuscany. These people were great builders, and were 
skilled in the arts. The rulers which the Etruscans 
placed upon the throne were called the Tarquins. They 
added the adjacent heights to the growing capital and 
enclosed, its seven hills within walls that lasted nearly 
eight centuries. Nearly all the rest of Latium was con- 
quered by them and made tributary to Rome. 

The Public Works of the Tarquins. — Rome was for the 
first time adorned with splendid temples and other pub- 
lic works. The most important were three in number. 
First, the temple of Jupiter, upon the Capitoline Hill, 
which was known as the Capitolium. 

"As this temple was the central seat of the Roman re- 
ligion and nationality and was frequently used for meet- 
ings of the Senate, the name capitol has come to be 
applied very generally to buildings which are the seat of 
government. Secondly, a magnificent set of sewers, the 
principal of which was the one which drained the marshy 



96 

valley between the hills and rendered the ground fit for 
the purposes of the Forum and Comitium. In this 
structure the principle of the arch was employed, which 
was in use in other parts of Italy also at this early period. 
These sewers are still in use. • Thirdly, the city walls 
which were now for the first time made to include both 
the Sabine and the Roman towns." — Allen. 

Servius Tullius. — These walls were the work of Servius 
Tullius, the greatest of the Tarquins and one of the most 
noted of the seven fabled kings of Rome. He was a 
friend of the common people, or Plebeians, as they were 
called. "That these might not be oppressed by the sen- 
atorial families, or the Patricians, he caused a law to be 
enacted that the senate could not make a decree without 
the consent of the Comitia, or the assemby of the people. 
This was the first step toward that republican liberty 
which afterwards became the glory of . Rome and the 
world." 

Tullius also advocated a plan by which the people 
should yearly chose their own rulers. " This so angered 
the house of Tarquin and the Patricians that one of the 
Tarquins struck Servius dead and was rewarded by being 
made king. He is known as Tarquinius Superbus, or 
Tarquin the Proud. He was a hard king, and the people 
mourned for the good Servius, who had made himself a 
martyr to their cause, and wished that his days would 
return." 

Some distinguished citizens of Rome sent, as a present 
to Abraham Lincoln, one of the stones from the wall of 
Servius. "President Lincoln, it is said, from a modest 
feeling, hid the stone in a cellar of the White House. 



97 - 

He little dreamed that his own history, which so far had 
resembled that of Servius Tullius, would also end like 
that noble Roman's." The stone has since been placed 
in Lincoln's tomb at Springfield, Illinois. — Butterworth. 



RISE OF THE REPUBLIC. 

Brutus, First Consul. — Tarquin the Proud was so un- 
just and oppressive that the Romans, headed by a noble 
Roman named Brutus, rose up and drove Tarquinius 
and his family without the walls. The republic was 
then established, 509 B. C, a year after Hippias was 
driven out of Athens. Two chief magistrates or consuls 
were chosen every year, and these consuls must be pa- 
tricians. Brutus, who distinguished himself in expell- 
ing the royal family, was chosen one of the first two con- 
suls. The constitution of Servius was adopted, and the 
senate was restored to its original three hundred, by the 
addition of members chosen from the richest of the 
knights (equites), several of whom were plebians. 

"The early republic required its consuls or presidents 
to be men of simple habits and living. When one of 
the praetors built a costly and pretentious house, the 
people compelled him to pull it down. They said it in- 
dicated an ambition to live in a style above them and 
would end in royalty.." — Butterworth. 

During the rule of Brutus, the Tarquins sought to 
come back again, and many of the Patrician families, 
not liking the simple freedom of the republic, favored 
their return. A conspiracy was formed to restore the 



98 

Tarquins. "The plot was discovered and the consuls 
were obliged to condemn the traitors to death." When 
they were brought before the consuls it was found that 
the two sons of Brutus were among the number. Would 
the President condemn his own sons ? 

When asked what defense they had to make, they only 
stood and wept in silence. 

The senators had compassion on them and cried out : 
"Let them be banished." 

But the father sternly replied, "Executioners, do your 
office." The officers led out the two sons and scourged 
and beheaded them before their father's eyes. Thus to 
disregard his own affections when public interest was 
concerned was considered a great virtue in the early days 
of Greece and Rome. 

Brutus died righting the Etruscans, and was mourned 
a whole year by the matrons of Rome. 

Invasion by Lars Porsenna. — Soon after the death of 
Brutus, a powerful army of Etruscans, under Lars Por- 
senna, king of Clusium, came to the Tiber to restore the 
banished Tarquins. "Porsenna defeated the Roman 
army, and was about to cross the Tiber and occupy the 
city, when Hora'tius Co'cles took his post on the bridge, 
and with two brave companions faced the Etruscans. 
While the three held the opposing host in check, their 
countrymen hewed down the bridge. — Qnackenbos. 



HORATITJS AT THE BRIDGE. 

Lars Porsenna of Clusium — by the Nine Gods he swore 
That the great house of Tarquin should suffer wrong no more. 
By the Nine Gods he swore it, and named a trysting day, 
And bade his messengers ride forth, to summon his array. 



99 . 

East and west and south and north the messengers ride fast, 
And tower and town and cottage have heard the trumpet's blast. 
Shame on the false Etruscan who lingers in his home 
When Porsenna of Clusium is on the march for Rome. 

The horsemen and the footmen are pouring in amain, 
From many a stately market-place; from many a fruitful plain; 
From many a lonely hamlet, which, hid by beech and pine. 
Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest of purple Apennine. 

The harvests of Arretium, this year, old men shall reap; 
This year, young boys in Umbro shall plunge the struggling sheep ; 
And in the vats of Luna, this year, the must shall foam 
Round the white feet of laughing girls whose sires have marched to 
Rome. 

And now hath every city sent up her tale of men ; 

The foot are fourscore thousand, the horse are thousands ten. 

Before the gates of Sutrium is met -the great array, 

A proud man was Lars Porsenna upon the trysting day. 

But by the yellow Tiber was tumult and affright; 

From all the spacious campaign to Rome men took their flight. 

A mile around the city, the throng stopped up the ways, 

A fearful sight it was to see, through two long nights and days. 

Now from the rock Tarpeian could the wan burghers spy 

The line of blazing villages red in the midnight sky, 

The Fathers of the city, they sat all night and day, 

For every hour some horseman came with tidings of dismay. 

I wis, in all the Senate, there was no heart so bold, 

But sore it ached, and fast it beat, when that ill news was told. 

Forthwith up rose the Consul, up rose the Fathers ajl ; 

In haste they girded up their gowns, and hied them to the wall. 

They held a council standing before the River-Gate ; 

Short time was there, ye may well guess, for musing or debate. 

Out spoke the Counsel roundly : "The bridge must straight go down ; 

For since Janiculum is lost, naught else can save the toWn." 



100 

Just then a scout came flying, all wild with haste and fear: 
"To arms ! to arms ! Sir Consul ; Lars Porsenna is here." 
On the low hills to westward, the Consul fixed his eye. 
And saw the swarthy storm of dust rise fast along the sky. 

But the Consul's brow was sad and the Consul's speed was low. 

And darkly looked he at the wall, and darkly at the foe. 

"Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down ; 

And if they once may win the bridge, what hope to save the town?" 

Then out spake Horatius, the captain of the gate: 
" To every man upon this earth death cometh, soon or late. 
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods ? 

"Hew down the bridge. Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may; 
I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play. 
In yon straight path a thousand may well be stopped by three. 
Now, who will stand on either hand, and keep the bridge with me? " 

Then out spake Spurius Lartius — a Ramnian proud was he, — 
"Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, and keep the "bridge with thee." 
And out spake strong Herminius — of Titian blood was he,-^- 
"I will abide on thy left side, and keep the bridge with thee." 

" Horatius," quoth the Consul, "as thou sayest, so let it be." 
And straight against that great array forth went the dauntless three. 
For Romans in Rome's quarrel spared neither land nor gold. 
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, in the brave days of old. 

Now while the three were tightening their harness on their backs, 
The Consul was the foremost man to take in hand an axe ; 
And Fathers mixed with Commons seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
And smote upon the planks above, and loosed the props below. 

The three stood calm and silent, and looked upon the foes, 

And a great shout of laughter from all the vanguard rose ; 

And forth three chiefs came spurring before that deep array ; 

To earth they sprang, their swords they drew to win the narrow way. 



101 



Stout Lartius hurled down Annus into the stream beneath ; 

Herminius struck at Seius, and clove him to the teeth ; 

At Picus brave Horatius darted one fiery thrust ; 

And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms clashed in the bloody dust. 



But all Etruria's noblest felt tbeir hearts sink to see 
On the earth the bloody corpses, in the path the dauntless three. 
And from the ghastly entrance, where those bold Romans stood, 
The bravest shrank like boys who rouse an old bear in the wood. 



But meanwhile axe and lever have manfully been plied, 
And now the bridge hangs tottering above the boiling tide. 
"Come back, come back, Horatius!" loud cried the Fathers all; 
"Back, Lartius! back, Herminius! back, ere the ruin fall!" 

Back darted Spurius Lartius; Herminius darted back; 

And, as they passed, beneath their feet they felt the timbers crack ; 

But when they turned their faces, and on the farther shore 

Saw brave Horatius stand alone, they would have crossed once more. 

But, with a crash like thunder, fell every loosened beam, 
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck lay right athwart the stream; 
And a long shout of triumph rose from the walls of Rome, 
As to the highest turret tops splashed the yellow foam. 

And, like a horse unbroken when first he feels the rein, 

The furious river struggled hard, and tossed his tawny mane, 

And burst the curb, and bounded, rejoicing to be free, 

And battlement, and plank, and pier, whirled headlong to the sea. 

Alone stood brave Horatius, but constant still in mind ; 
Thrice thirty thousand foes before, and the broad flood behind. 
"Down with him!" cried false Sextus, with a smile on his pale face, 
"Now yield thee," cried Lars Posenna, "now yield thee to ourgrace." 

Round turned he, as not deigning those craven ranks to see ; 
Naught spake he to Lars Porsenna, to Sextus naught spake he ; 
But he saw on Palatinus the white porch of his home, 
And he spake to the noble river that rolls by the towers of Rome. 



102 

"O Tiber! Father Tiber! to whom the Romans pray, 
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, take thou in charge this day !" 
So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed the good sword by his side, 
And, with his harness on his back, plunged headlong in the tide. 

No sound of joy or sorrow was heard from either bank ; 

But friends and foes, in dumb surprise," stood gazing where he sank; 

And when above the surges they saw his crest appear, 

Rome shouted, and e'en Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer. 

But fiercely ran the current, swollen high by months of rain ; 
And fast his blood was flowing; and he was sore in pain, 
And heavy with his armor, and spent with changing blows, 
And oft they thought him sinking — but still again he rose. 

Never, I ween, did swimmer, in such an evil case, 
Struggle through such a raging flood safe to the landing place ; 
But his limbs were borne up bravely by the brave heart within, 
And our good Father Tiber bare bravely up his chin. 

"Curse on him?" quoth false Sextus; "will not the villain drown? 
But for his stay, ere close of day we should have sacked the town !" 
"Heaven help him! " quote Lars Porsenna, " and bring him safe to 

shore ; 
For such a gallant feat of arms was never seen before." 

And now he feels the bottom — now on dry earth he stands ; 
Now round him throng the Fathers to press his gory hands. 
And, now with shouts and clapping, and noise of weeping loud, 
He enters through the River-Gate, borne by the joyous crowd. 

They gave him of the corn-land that was of public right 

As much as two strong oxen could plough from morn till night; 

And they made a molten image, and set it up on high, 

And there it stands unto this day to witness if I lie. 

It stands in the Comitium, plain for all folk to see ; 

Horatius in his harness, halting upon one knee ; 

And underneath is written, in letters all of gold, 

How valiantly he kept the bridge in the brave days of old. 

— Maeaulay. 



10 



o 



Lars Porsenna continued the siege until the Romans 
suffered from hunger, nevertheless the} T refused to yield. 
A youth by the name of Caius Marius asked permission 
to go to the enemy's camp. There he sought to kill 
Lars Porsenna, but mistaking one of the counselors for 
the king, struck him dead. He was seized and brought 
before Lars Porsenna. When asked why he committed 
the deed he replied, that Rome might be free. "Torture 
hira," was the command. Without hesitation he walked 
up. to the fire and unflinchingly held his bare hand in 
the flames until the flesh was consumed. To the aston- 
ished Etruscans he said that Rome was full of men as 
brave as himself. He was allowed to return to Rome, 
and Lars Porsenna soon after made a treaty of peace 
with the Romans and Tarquin died in exile. 

Early Days of the Republic. — We now pass from the 
Golden Age of tradition and fable to the real life of the 
Roman Republic. In the early days the two consuls or 
presidents, who were elected yearly, had the supreme 
power. The senate at first could give counsel only ; it 
was not till a later time that it became a law-making 
body. The consuls wore all the insignia of royalty 
which they had adopted from the Etruscans, with the 
exception of the crown. They performed the duties of 
their office while seated on a throne, dressed in purple 
robes and bearing ivory scepters surmounted by golden 
eagles. They made the laws, led the people in war, and 
judged them in peace. When acting as judges they 
were attended by twelve lictors, who bore on their shoul- 
ders as a symbol of authority an ax tied in a bundle of 
rods. The consuls were elected by the patricians, and 



104 

were not allowed to serve a second term without waiting 
a number of years. It was the custom for a person who 
was seeking a high public office to dress in white, hence 
our word candidate, from the Latin Candidus (white). 

The Struggle between the Plebeians and the Patri- 
cians. — The plebeians or common people were those who 
were not descendants of the first settlers of Rome. They 
tilled the lands and paid enormous taxes to the patri- 
cians, served in the army without pay, yet were for- 
bidden the rights of citizens, and not allowed to inter- 
marry with the patricians. While absent in the wars, their 
farms remained 1 untilled, or were plundered by the 
enemy. When they returned, they were forced to bor- 
row money to buy seed, tools, and food, thus becoming 
debtors to the patricians. If they did not meet their 
payments, they could be sold as slaves, or thrown into 
the debtor's prison."' 

An aged prisoner once escaped from prison and ap r 
peared before the people. His venerable aspect and 
pitiable condition demanded the attention of all. His 
clothes were ragged and his face pallid from long con- 
finement and meager diet. Nevertheless the people 
knew him as one who had won military distinction, and 
who had once held the rank of centurion. They were 
touched with pity and recounted his brave deeds, won- 
dering at his forlorn condition. He bared his breast and 
showed the scars of many a battle-field. When a crowd 
had gathered round, and demanded why he appeared 
thus, he told his pitiful story. He» had served in the 
Sabine wars. His farm was plundered by the enemy, 
his cattle driven off, his house burned and his crops de- 



105 - 

stroyed, everything of value was gone. The taxes be- 
came due, debts were contracted which were multiplied 
by the exorbitant interest. He fell a victim to the inhu- 
manity of his creditors. He was cast into prison, not an 
ordinary prison, but a dungeon, only relieved by the 
hard labor of the work-house. In proof of his state- 
ments he exhibited the marks of recent scourging on his 
back. 

The people listened with horror, becoming so enraged, 
that at last they marched off in a body to the Sacred 
Mount, and threatened to build a new city for them- 
selves. 

At this time news came that a tribe of people called 
Volscians were on their way to attack Rome. The patri- 
cians were now alarmed, and not without cause, for the 
plebeians were ready to join the enemy. The senate sent 
summons; the people knew their power and refused to 
fight. 

Menenius Agrippa. — There was at this time in Rome a 
very wise man named Agrippa, who was loved and re- 
spected by all. When asked his opinion concerning the 
struggle between the patricians and plebeians, he recited 
to them this fable: 

'■ Once upon a time the different organs of the body 
had a discussion as to their work. The head, heart, 
hands, and feet, all thought that they were working to 
support the stomach in idleness. The head complained 
that it had to think to feed it ; the hands, that they had 
to labor for it ; the feet, that they must carry it. They 
agreed to cease their labors and no more associate 1 with 
an organ so lowly. The hands refused to labor ; the 



106 

feet would not move ; the teeth would not chew the 
food ; but they soon found out their mistake. Their 
strength went from them ; they became poor and help- 
less. Thus they found how much they were dependent 
upon the stomach. 

" So," said the wise man, " society is made up of dif- 
ferent ranks, each necessary to the welfare of the others; 
all must have the respect and honor due to them." 

Tribunes of the People. — Both parties were touched by 
the story and were willing to make concessions. It was 
agreed that there should be two tribunes of the people 
who should be 'present outside of the assembly to guard 
the rights of the common people. If any unjust law 
should be passed, the tribunes could shout their veto 
through the open door. Their persons were to be sacred 
and their houses were to stand open day -and night, as 
places of refuge for all the oppressed. 

The Decemvirs. — The tribunes being ignorant of the 
laws, were often unable to fulfill the duties of their of- 
fice. They, therefore, demanded that the laws be made 
public. Ten men, called decemvirs, were appointed, 
whose duty it should be to revise and publish a code of 
laws, also to govern in place of the consuls and tribunes. 

The Laws of the Twelve Tables. — The decemvirs com- 
piled twelve tables of laws, which formed the basis of all 
legislation for many centuries. They were written on 
tablets of brass and hung up in the forum, where all 
could read them. Every school-boy, as late as Cicero's 
time, learned them by heart. 

Appius Claudius. — The Historian Livy tells how the 
decemvirs fell into dishonor. At first they governed 



107 - 

well, but when they were chosen for the second term, 
Appius Claudius was the only one re-elected. All was 
now changed ; tyranny reigned. Two new tables of 
oppressive laws were added to the former tables. At the 
end of the year, no new election was called, for the de- 
cemvirs ruled in defiance of the senate and people. Many 
leading citizens feared for their lives and fled from the 
city. 

One day as Appius Claudius passed through the forum 
he saw the beautiful daughter of Virginius, a plebeian 
and officer of the army. Upon inquiring, he learned 
that her name was Virginia, and that she was engaged 
to marry a young plebeian. Charmed with her beauty, 
he resolved to make her his own. He directed his client 
to abduct her, claiming that she was a child of one of 
his slaves and not the true daughter of Virginius. 

The case came before the decemvirs for trial, Claudius, 
of course, deciding in favor of his client. Upon hear- 
ing the fate of his child, Virginius drew her to one side, 
as if to bid her farewell. Suddenly seizing a butcher's 
knife from a booth near by, he stabbed her to the heart, 
crying, ''Thus only can I make thee free." 

Appius ordered Virginius to be seized; but he was pro- 
tected by his friends, who escorted him to the city gates. 
He escaped to the camp, and aroused the soldiers to 
vengeance. 

Once again the plebeians rose against' the patricians 
and the decemvirs were forced to resign. The former 
government of consuls and tribunes was renewed. Ap- 
pius, in despair, killed himself. 

Triumph of the Plebs. — The strife between the pa- 



108 

tricians and plebeians continued through many centuries, 
marked by only a few bloody contests, but by continual 
gain on the part of the people. Step by step they 
pushed their demands for equal privileges with the 
patricians, until in 300 B. C.', nearly two centuries 
after the republic was established, Rome possessed a 
democratic government, the highest offices being open to 
the plebeians. Civil concord brought with it a period of 
civic virtue and heroic greatness, when "To be a Roman 
was greater than to be a king." 

Foreign Wars. — We have already referred to the for- 
eign wars which disturbed Rome during the struggle for 
political freedom. Many beautiful legends are connected 
with these wars, which possess all the dignity if not all 
the truth of history. 

Coriolanus. — In the war with the Volscians, a patri- 
cian youth named Caius Marcius gained- great renown. 
When the Romans were besieging the city of Carioli, the 
Volscians made a sally, but were driven back by Mar- 
cius, who pursued them within the walls. He hewed 
his way out of the gates and admitted the Romans, thus 
winning the city. 

All bleeding from his wounds, he was brought before 
the consul, who placed a crown upon his head, and said : 
"Henceforth thou shalt be called Coriolanus." The 
consul then offered him his share of the spoils in slaves. 
He chose but one, and then, to the astonishment of all, 
gave him his liberty. 

But Coriolanus was not popular, for he was no friend 
to the plebeians. Soon after, in a time of famine, when 
grain was brought from Sicily, he refused to sell any to 



109 - 

the plebeians unless they would submit to the patricians. 
The tribunes, indignant, sought to bring him to trial, 
but he fled from the city, leaving his mother, wife, and 
children, and took refuge with the despised Volscians. 

Rousing the Volscians, he returned at the head of an 
army and besieged Rome. The city was in great peril. 
As a last resort the mothers of Rome resolved to appeal 
to him. Dressed in the deepest mourning, they passed 
out of the city gates, headed by the mother and wife of 
Coriolanus and his own little ones. When they reached 
the camp, his mother prostrated herself at his feet, say- 
ing, "If you come to destroy Rome, begin with me." 
The appeal touched his heart, and he exclaimed, "Mother, 
thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son." 

His words were fulfilled. Having ordered a retreat, 
he is said to have been slain by the angry Volscians. 

Cinciimatus. — Another noted patrician living at this 
time was Cincinnatus, so named because of his curly 
hair. He lived in a simple way on his farm of four 
acres, but was known and respected even by the plebe- 
ians as a man of sound and just judgment. 

One day news came that the consul and his army 
were surrounded in a deep valley by the iEquians, a 
neighboring tribe. The people met in council. Who 
should deliver them in this hour of great peril ? Who 
had sufficient wisdom and prudence ? Alas ! there 
seemed to be no one. At last some one' proposed the 
name of Cincinnatus for dictator. It was received with 
great approval, and messengers immediately summoned 
him. They found him plowing, assisted by his wife. 



11.0 

We are told that he washed his face, donned his toga, 
and started in a boat towards Rome. 

There he took the lead of a volunteer army, bidding 
every man carry twelve wooden stakes. That very night 
he surrounded the enemy's camp with a palisade. Mi- 
nucius, the consul, hearing the Roman war-cry, renewed 
the attack with vigor. When morning dawned, the 
iEquians perceived they had been surrounded and all 
was lost. " They were forced to surrender and pass un- 
der the yoke." 

Cincinnatus had saved his country ; all honors await- 
ed him. He was awarded a golden crown. Refusing 
all, he resigned his dictatorship and went back to his 
little farm on the Tiber. 

Marcus Camillus. — " We now come to the most inter- 
esting story of the palmy days of the republic.' ' En- 
couraged by the successes in subduing -the neighboring 
tribes, the Romans determined to rid themselves of their 
most formidable rival, the Etruscan city of Veii. The 
siege lasted, with varying fortunes, for ten years, when 
it was at last concluded by dictator Marcus Camillus, by 
mining under its walls. The most cruel revenge was 
then taken upon the inhabitants. The men were put to 
death; the women and children sold into slavery; noth- 
ing was left but the bare walls and deserted buildings of 
the once nourishing city. 

Wishing to punish the city of Falerii, which had aided 
the Veientes, Camillus appeared before that city. Now 
it happened that there was an ambitious schoolmaster 
who had in his charge the sons of the chief families of 
Falerii. One day, pretending to give them exercise, he 



Ill 

took the boys without the gates and conducted them to 
the Roman camp. Carnillus was so enraged at this 
treachery that he scorned to take advantage of it. Tying 
the hands of the schoolmaster behind his back, he gave 
the boys whips and bade them flog their master back to 
the city. The Falerians, moved by such a display of 
honor on the part of the Romans, surrendered. The 
triumph of Camillus was complete, and he entered Rome 
in all the splendor of a god. His face was covered with 
vermilion and he was borne in a chariot drawn by four 
white horses. 

Forgetful of the offering to the gods, which must al- 
ways be a tenth part of the booty, he incurred the dis- 
trust of the people. He was accused of pride and appro- 
priating to himself the bronze gates of the city of Veii. 
The tribunes impeached him and he departed from the 
city into voluntary exile, praying that Rome might yet 
need his help. 

The Gallic Invasion. — The time soon came. "Five' 
years later a great alarm came to Rome. There was a 
barbarian nation in the north called the Gauls. They 
had blue eyes, yellow hair, and strong arms ; they went 
naked down to the waist, and their bands or armies were 
fearful to look upon. They had driven the Etruscans 
away from the fertile lands of the Po, and had crossed 
the Apennine Mountains and were facing Rome. They 
came like a hurricane, and nothing could withstand 
them. The Roman senators, true to their city, resolved 
to die in their seats." — Butterworth. They dressed 
themselves in their robes of state and sat down like so 
many statues in their ivory chairs of magistracy to await 



112 

death. The barbarians, hurrying through the deserted 
streets, at length came to the forum. For a moment 
they stood amazed at the sight of those solemn faces, so 
like unto gods in the magnificence of their attire and 
the majesty of their looks. One- of the Gauls put out his 
hand reverently to stroke the white beard of an aged sen- 
ator, when the indignant Roman smote him with his 
ivory staff. The spell was broken and the senators were 
ruthlessly massacred. The city was then pillaged and 
burned. 

A Roman force still held the capitol, which was be- 
sieged by the Gauls for some months. One night a 
party of Gauls stealthily clambered up the steep ascent 
of the Capitoline Hill, one of them reaching the highest 
ledge, when the cackling of the sacred geese in the 
temple of Juno gave the alarm. Marcus Manlius, a 
brave patrician, was aroused by the noise, and rushed 
out just in time to dash the foremost Gaul over the pre- 
cipice. Other Romans rallied to the aid of Manlius, and 
the invaders were repulsed. Thus it came to be a pro- 
verb that " Rome was saved by the cackling of a 
goose ! " 

This attempt having failed the Gauls began to weary 
of the siege and agreed to accept a ransom of a thousand 
pounds of gold. The money was collected with great 
difficulty by taking the treasures of the temples and the 
jewels contributed by the Roman women. When the 
Romans complained of the scales being false, Brennus, 
the Gallic chief, flung his sword among the weights, 
insolently exclaiming, " Woe to the vanquished ! " 

Meanwhile a messenger had been to Camillus, the 



113 . 

exiled dictator, offering him the dictatorship and be- 
seeching him to come to the rescue of the city. Hastily 
gathering together an army, he is said to have arrived 
just in season ' to seize the treasures about to be deliv- 
ered to the Gauls, and bid defiance to Brennus and his 
host, saying, " Rome is to be bought with iron, not 
gold." 

The Gauls, dismayed by so formidable an enemy, 
retired from the city. Camillus pursued them, and not 
a man escaped to tell how low the city had fallen on 
that eventful day. 

Rome Rebuilt. — Camillus was named the second 
founder of Rome. He it was who persuaded them to 
rebuild their city on the hills made glorious by their 
ancestors, rather than to forsake their sacred altars to 
occupy the well-built city of Veii. "As soon as it was 
decided that they should remain in their old home, 
they energetically went to work with bricks, which were 
provided by the city without cost, and the stone ob- 
tained from the dismantled city of Veii. So little care 
was observed in regard to the course of streets and sew- 
ers, that Rome was a network of very narrow, crooked 
streets, with high houses, and remained so until after 
the great fire in the time of Nero. — Allen. 

Camillus's Speech to the Romans. — (By Livy.) — "My 
countrymen, we hold a city founded under auspices and 
with solemn inauguration ; there is no spot within its 
walls that is not full of a divine presence and hallowed 
associations. The days on which our great sacrifices 
recur are not more strictly fixed than the places where 



114 

they are to be offered. Will you desert all these objects 
of adoration, public and private, my fellow-citizens ? 

" Some will say, perhaps, that we can fulfill these sa- 
cred duties at Veii, or send our own priests from thence 
to perform them here. Neither can be done without 
breaking our religious obligations. What shall I say of 
the eternal Fire of Vesta, and of that image of Pallas, 
which iEneas brought from Troy, preserved in the guar- 
dianship of her temple as the pledge of our empire ? 
What of your sacred shields, great Mars and Father 
Quirinus ? Is it your will to forsake and leave to 
desecration all those hallowed symbols, old as the city 
herself, some even older than her foundation? 

"If in this whole city no better or more commodious 
dwelling could be erected than that hut in which our 
founder lived, — were it not better to live in huts like 
shepherds and peasants, amidst your own shrines and 
household gods, than go into this national exile ? . . . 
Does our affection or our native place depend on walls 
and beams ? For mine own part, when I was late in 
exile, I confess that as often as my native city came into 
my thoughts, there rose before my eyes all this, — these 
hills, these plains, yon Tiber, and the scene so familiar 
to my sight, and the bright sky under which I was born 
and brought up. Roman countrymen ! rather let 
these things move you now by the love you bear them, 
to stay where you are, than wring your hearts with re- 
gret for them hereafter ! Not without cause did gods 
and men fix on this spot to found a city : health-giving 
hills, a river nigh at hand, to bring in food from all in- 



115 . 

land places, to receive supplies by sea; the sea itself 
handy for commerce, yet not so near as to expose the city 
to hostile fleets ; a spot central to all Italy, adapted be- 
yond all others for the growth of a great state." 

" Camillus was six times made dictator, and proved 
himself superior to all of his enemies, and died in honored 
old age." — Butterworth. 

Several important military reforms are believed to 
have been the work of Marcus Camillus, the great com- 
mander of his age. Heretofore, the Roman army had 
been a militia, serving without pay ; now it became a 
body of paid troops. 

"The early Roman army, like that of the Greeks, was 
a phalanx, that is, a compact body forming a continuous 
line without breaks or intervals. An army drawn up in 
this order and armed with long spears, was almost in- 
vincible in defense ; but it could not move with ease or 
precision, except upon level ground, and was unsuited 
to attack." The legion, which is thought to have been 
introduced by Camillus, was the opposite of the phalanx, 
being flexible instead of compact. The army was 
formed into three ranks, the companies of one standing 
behind the spaces of that in front ; by this it was possi- 
ble to withdraw the front line and advance those in the 
rear through the spaces between those in front. — Allen. 

Rome was now mistress of Central Italy, and was con- 
sidered the common defender of the neighboring nations. 

War with Pyrrhus. — A few years later nearly all the 
Greek cities of Southern Italy had acknowledged the 
growing power of the imperial city. Tarentum, how- 



116 

ever, a commercial city of great wealth and enterprise, 
now made a last effort to check the dominion of Rome. 
The Tarentines, wishing to keep the field of traffic to 
themselves, required the Romans to keep their ships of 
war away from the southern coast. In direct violation 
of a treaty to that effect, a Roman fleet appeared off the 
harbor of Tarentum. War followed and the Tarentines, 
too lazy to defend themselves, applied to Pyrrhus, king 
of Epirus, one of the ablest and most ambitious princes 
since the time of Alexander. Pyrrhus, overjoyed at the 
prospect of conquering the Western world, sailed with a 
large army and, what proved of more importance than 
any other part of the army, a troop of twenty elephants. 
The compact phalanx of the Greeks was at first more 
than a match for the Roman legion and the unwonted 
sight of the elephants threw the Roman cavalry into 
confusion. Thus Pyrrhus won two hard fought battles, 
but he is reported to have said, " Another such a victory 
would compel me to return to Epirus alone." As he 
surveyed the field of carnage after his first triumph and 
beheld the stalwart forms of the dead Romans with their 
resolute features and not a single wound behind he ex- 
claimed, "Had I such soldiers, how easily could I be- 
come master of the world." He realized the impossibil- 
ity of conquering such a nation of heroes and accord- 
ingly sent his friend Cineas, an ambassador, who was 
famous for his powers of persuasion, to arrange terms of 
peace. So successful was he with his honeyed speech, 
the senate were about to yield when the aged and blind 
Appius Claudius caused himself to be led into the assem- 
bly and declared that Rome should never treat for peace 



117 • 

so long as a foreign enemy stood upon the soil of Italy. 
The presents sent to the senators and their families after 
the Greek custom of commencing negotiations were 
haughtily refused by the Roman wives. Cineas on return- 
ing told Pyrrhus that Rome was like a great temple, and 
the Roman senate an assembly of kings. Soon after this 
event an embassy of the Romans headed by Caius Fabri- 
cius Luscinus was sent to Pyrrhus to treat concerning 
the exchange of prisoners. Fabricius had long been a 
pattern to his countrymen for his contentment amid 
poverty. To try his integrity Pyrrhus offered him pres- 
ents ; but they were refused. Then the king resolved to 
break his lofty spirit. " He summoned Fabricius to' a 
conference in the royal tent which was divided into two 
parts by a curtain. 

"As they were conversing, the curtain suddenly 
dropped, and an enormous elephant that had been hid- 
den behind it raised his trunk over the Roman's head 
and trumpeted. 

"But Fabricius was not to be thus frightened. He 
turned to the king and said : ' I am not to be bribed by 
your gold nor frightened by your beast.' " — Butterworth. 

Pyrrhus was gratified to find so much integrity and 
courage in a barbarian, as he called the Roman, and, as 
a mark of his regard, he released all the Roman prison- 
ers without ransom. 

Fabricius was chosen consul the next year. In the 
next campaign, while the two armies were approaching 
each other, a letter was brought to Fabricius from the 
physician of Pyrrhus, offering to poison the king for a 
proper reward. The honest old Roman was indignant 



118 

at such a wicked proposal, and sent off the messengers 
at once to inform Pyrrhus of the plot against his life. 
Pyrrhus, filled with admiration at the nobility and gen- 
erosity of Fabricius and his friends, gave up all thought 
of continuing the struggle and "retired into Sicily to de- 
fend the Greek city of Syracuse against the Carthagini- 
ans. At first he was everywhere successful; but finally 
fortune turned against him, and in desperation he re- 
turned to Italy to engage in a final struggle with the 
Romans. When marching at night to attack the Rom- 
ans, his army lost their way in a dense forest, and it was 
broad day when they came in sight of the Roman force. 
Wearied as they were, they were obliged to join battle at 
once, thus giving the Romans the advantage. The ele- 
phants, their last hope, were sent into the thick of the 
combat, but this time the Romans were prepared for 
them and showered them with arrows headed with blaz- 
ing tow. The huge animals, maddened with pain and 
terror, turned and trampled on their masters, who, pan- 
ic-stricken, took to flight. The rout was complete, and 
soon afterwards Pyrrhus, collecting his shattered forces, 
returned to Epirus, leaving only a small garrison at Ta- 
rentum. "He had scarcely embarked before Tarentum 
surrendered to the Romans (272 B. C). This ended 
the struggle for the mastery of Italy. Rome was now 
mistress of all the peninsula south of the Arnus and the 
Rubicon." It was now her care to make a strong union 
of her possessions by a perfect network of colonies and 
military roads. 

The Roman Government. — The city of Rome was the 
center of all executive authority and alone possessed the 



119 * 

power to declare war, make peace, and coin money. The 
cities of the conquered territory, as a rule, retained 
their right of local self-government, but must furnish 
their quota of troops for the Roman army. Beyond 
this requirement no tribute or tax was demanded. 

There were three classes of people in this vast com- 
monwealth : first, Roman citizens ; second, Latins ; 
third, Italians or allies. The Roman citizens included, 
at first, the free inhabitants of the territory of Rome 
proper and were divided into thirty-three tribes. To 
them alone belonged the right of meeting in the forum 
to enact laws and vote for consuls, etc. Included in 
this class were the Roman colonists, who were sent to 
found new Romes in every conquered state, and whose 
sole military duty it was to protect the sea-coast. The 
Latins, or second class, embracing the people of many 
of the conquered towns, were allowed to govern them- 
selves in local concerns, but not to take part in the pub- 
lic affairs of Rome. The Italians, or allies, were the 
people of those cities who had bound themselves by 
treaty to contribute regular contingents to the Roman 
army, but were otherwise independent. 

The period which we have now reached is the 
grandest one in Roman history. Roman peasants still 
lived' on their little farms of three or four acres, just as 
their ancestors had done, and their frugal industry had 
converted many a barren field into a fruitful garden. 
Roman citizenship, at this time, had a might and a 
meaning, which, as the Roman power extended, was 
eagerly sought for by every person and city. It was 
constantly held out as a reward for faithful service to 



120 

the republic. (Acts XXII, 25; XXIII, 27; XXV, 11 
-21. 

Only those Roman citizens of the city of Rome itself 
and the vicinity were enabled to exercise the right of 
suffrage in the Roman assemblies. The modern system 
of representation, by which other cities could take part 
in the government of the republic, was never conceived 
of by the Romans. They knew no form of government 
except the free city and the despotic empire of the 
Orient; and when the city government fell they could 
do nothing but establish the empire. 

Military Roads. — During this period, that system of 
military roads was commenced which united all parts of 
Italy and, eventually, the most distant provinces by an 
easy and familiar intercourse. The primary object of 
these roads, however, was to facilitate the marches of 
the legions. "They ran in a direct line from one city 
to another, with very little respect for the obstacles 
either of nature or private property. Mountains were 
perforated and bold arches thrown over the most rapid 
of the streams. The middle part of the road was raised 
into a terrace, which commanded the adjacent country, 
consisted of several strata of sand, gravel, and cement, 
and was paved with large stones, or, in some places near 
the capital, with granite. Such was the solid construc- 
tion of the Roman highways, whose firmness has not en- 
tirely yielded to the effort of fifteen centuries. 

"The advantage of receiving the earliest intelligence 
and of conveying their orders with celerity, induced the 
emperors of a later time to establish posts on all the 
roads. Houses were everywhere erected at a distance 



- 121 - 

only of five or six miles ; each of them was constantly 
provided with forty horses, and by the help of these re- 
lays, it was easy to travel a hundred miles in a day along 
the Roman roads." — Gibbon. 

The most celebrated of these ancient roads is the Ap- 
pian Way, which extends from the Roman forum into 
Southern Italy, a distance of three hundred and fifty 
miles. Its foundations were laid 312 B. C. by Appius 
Claudius, the blind. 



THE PUNIC WARS. 

We now come to the struggle between Rome and Car- 
thage, called the " Punic Wars ' ' from Poeni, meaning 
Phoenicians. In this struggle of more than one hundred 
years the Aryan and Semitic races contended for the 
mastery of the world. When Rome completed her con- 
quest of Southern Italy she stood face to face with Car- 
thage. Pyrrhus is said to have exclaimed as he left 
Sicily: "What a beautiful field we leave for the Ro- 
mans and Carthaginians." 

Carthage, the rival city of Rome, was situated ten miles 
from the present city of Tunis. It was one of those col- 
onies established by the Phoenicians long before Rome 
was founded. When Phoenicia lost its importance Car- 
thage became a second Tyre. Utica, Cadiz, and other 
Phoenician cities of Africa and Spain acknowledged her 
leadership, and at the time Rome became " Mistress of 
Italy" the colonies and fortresses of Carthage were scat- 
tered over the islands and shores of the Western Mediterra- 
nean. Her war galleys swept over the seas, and so com- 



122 

plete was the dominion of the proud city that she boasted 
" that the Romans should not be permitted even to 
wash their hands in the Mediterranean." 

Comparison of Eome and Carthage (See Allen and 
Myers) — Origin of the First Punic War. — The islands of 
Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Isles were under the 
power of Carthage, and for centuries the Carthaginians 
and Greeks had contended for the possession of Sicily. 
The Romans had never set foot on the island. A slight 
pretext now served to involve them in the struggle. A 
horde of Italian pirates had seized Messana. " The king 
of Syracuse threatened to expel them, and they appealed 
to Rome for help. The Romans hesitated, but when 
they saw that the Carthaginian power in Sicily was a 
menace to their own coast they resolved to possess 
Sicily as a protection against invasion.' ' — Butterworth. 

The Greeks and Carthaginians at first -united to expel 
the insolent newcomers, but the Romans were every- 
where successful, and obtained a sure foothold on the 
island. The king of Syracuse rinding that he was on 
the losing side hastened to make friends with the Ro- 
mans, and continued their ally for a quarter of a cen- 
tury. Soon after this the Romans became masters of 
the entire island except a few maritime ports which they 
could not conquer as long as the Carthaginian navy had 
command of the sea. 

Rome's First Fleet. — The Roman senate, not content 
with a partial success, was determined to rule the sea as 
well as the land. Rome must have a fleet. A stranded 
Phoenician vessel was taken as a model, and in sixty days' 
time one hundred and thirty vessels were built by the 



123 * 

Romans. The ships were provided with draw-bridges, 
so that their disciplined soldiers could rush upon the 
enemy's deck and come at once to a hand-to-hand con- 
test. In four years' time the Romans had established 
their supremacy on the sea by two great naval victories 
over the Carthaginians. 

Romans Cross the Sea. — A few years later the senate 
sent an army into Africa led by the consul Regulus. 
For a time he carried all before him and Carthage 
seemed about to fall when a Spartan took command 
and overthrew the Roman army with great slaughter, 
taking Regulus prisoner. 

The Romans were forced to evacuate Africa, and, for 
several years, the war dragged on, with a few successes 
on the island of Sicily, but disaster after disaster on the 
sea. Four Roman fleets had been destroyed, three of 
them being shattered by storms. At last Hamilcar 
took command of the Carthaginian forces on the island 
of Sicily and conducted the war with such skill that 
Rome trembled for the safety of her Italian possessions. 
A fleet of two hundred vessels was hastily built and 
equipped by private subscription. A naval battle was 
fought which resulted in the overwhelming defeat of 
the Carthaginians. They now sued for peace, the con- 
ditions of which were the cession of Sicily to Rome and 
the payment of 3,200 talents (about $4,000,000) as 
war indemnity. Thus ended the First Punic War 
(241 B. C), after a period of twenty-four years. 

The temple of Janus was now closed for the first time 
since the days of Numa. 

Story of Reg'ulus. — In this war a remarkable exam- 



124 

pie of Roman honor was added to the- grand tales of old. 
Like Cincinnatus, Regulus was a plain man with great 
good sense and strength of character. He also tilled his 
simple farm and did not seek for a high office. He was 
respected by all classes of people, and at the time of the 
first Punic war was made consul. His office compelled 
him to assume command of the army. He enlarged the 
Roman fleet to more than three hundred war vessels, 
defeated the Carthaginians and landed his army on the 
Carthaginian shore. 

As he was about to advance on Carthage a messenger 
from Rome came to him and said : 

"Your family are suffering and need you; a slave 
has run away w T ith the farm tools, and your wife and 
children know not what to do." 

Regulus asked to be relieved of his command that he 
might return to their assistance, but the senate ordered 
him to proceed, promising to care for his family. Reg- 
ulus met with continued success, and would have con- 
quered Carthage had not the Carthaginians been rein- 
forced by a large body of Greek soldiers. This time the 
Greek general placed one hundred elephants in the van, 
and again the Roman army was thrown into a panic, as 
the elephants rushed upon them. A complete defeat 
followed, and Regulus himself was taken prisoner. 

After being kept in confinement a long time, he was 
selected to carry proposals of peace to the Romans. They 
asked him : 

"Will you swear to return if the senate refuse to 
make peace ? " 

' * I will pledge you my honor to return, ' ? said Regulus. 



125 * 

When Regulus reached Rome he refused to enter the 
gates of the city. " I am no longer a Roman citizen," 
he said, " but a Carthaginian slave. I am an old man, 
and am not worth exchanging as a prisoner." 

He stated the terms of the proposed peace, but, to the 
amazement of all, he urged that they be rejected as un- 
worthy of the glory and honor of Rome. Then, without 
visiting his home, he turned his back on the walls of 
Rome forever, and passed away from the shadows of the 
Seven Hills, admired by all who held honor more sacred 
than life. A cruel death awaited him at the hands of 
the enraged Carthaginians. So perished this martyr to 
his word and his country, but his name is enrolled with 
Rome's undying heroes. 



REGULUS BEFORE THE SENATE. 

Urge me no more ; your prayers are vain 

And even the tears ye shed ; 
When I can lead to Rome again 

The bands that once I led ; 
When I can raise your legions slain 
On swarthy Libya's fatal plain, 

To vengeance from the dead ; 
Then will I seek once more a home, 
And lift a freeman's voice in Rome ! 

Accursed moment ! when I awoke 
From faintness all but death, 

And felt the coward conqueror's yoke * 
Like venomed serpents wreath 

Round every limb ; if lip and eye 

Betrayed no sign of agony, 
Inly I cursed my breath ; 

Wherefore, of all that fought, was I 

The only wretch that could not die? ' 



126 

To darkness and to chains consigned, 

The captive's fighting doom 
I recked not ; could they chain the mind, 

Or plunge the soul in gloom? 
And there they left me, dark and lone, 
Till darkness had familiar grown; 

Then from that living tomb 
They led me forth, I thought, to die ; 
Oh ! in that thought was ecstasy ! 

But no ! kind Heaven had yet in store 

For me, a conquered slave, 
A joy I thought to feel no more, 

Or feel but in the grave. 
They deemed, perchance, my haughtier mood 
Was quelled by chains and solitude ; 

That he who once was brave — 
Was I not brave ? — had now become 
Estranged from honor as from Rome. 

They bade me to my country bear 

The offers these have borne ; 
They would have trained my lips to swear, 

Which never yet have sworn. 
Silent their base commands I heard, 
At length I pledged a Roman's word, 

Unshrinking to return. 
I go, prepared to meet the worst, 
But I shall gall proud Carthage first. 

They sue for peace ; I bid you spurn 

The gilded bait they bear; 
I bid you still, with aspect stern, 

War — ceaseless war — declare. 
Fools as they were, could not mine eyes, 
Through their dissembled calmness, sp)^ 

The struggles of despair ? 
Else had they sent this wasted frame 
To bribe you to your country's shame ? 



127 

Your land — (I must not call it mine; 

No country has the slave ; 
His father's name he must resign, 

And even his father's grave — 
But this not now) — beneath her lies 
Proud Carthage and her destinies ; 

Her empire o'er the wave 
Is yours ; she knows it well, and you 
Shall know, and make her feel it, too. 

Ah, bend your brows, ye ministers 

Of coward hearts, on me ; 
Ye know no longer it is hers, 

The empire of the sea ; 

Ye know her fleets are far and few ; 
Her bands a mercenary crew ; 

And Eome, the bold and free, 
Shall trample on her prostrate towers, 
Despite your weak and wasted powers. 

One path alone remains for me ; 

My vows were heard on high ; 
Thy triumphs, Rome, I shall not see, 

For I return to die. 
Then tell me not of hope or life ; 
I have in Rome no chaste, fond wife, 

No smiling progeny ; 
One word concentres for the slave — 
Wife, children, country, all — the €lrave. 

— Bev. Thomas Dale. 



Rome's First Provinces. — Sicily now became Rome's 
first province. The seizure of Sardinia and Corsica was 
soon after accomplished, and that system of provincial 
government established which in time made every dis- 
trict in Europe, Asia, and Africa, lying within reach of 
the Roman legions, become tributary to Rome. Accord- 
ing to this provincial s}'stem the people outside of Italy 



128 

were held strictly as subjects. Their lands were not 
considered their own, but as belonging to Rome. A 
Roman governor, with absolute power, was appointed to 
rule over each province, and a heavy tribute was exacted. 
It can be easily understood that' as the Roman character 
fell from its ideal of honor, that the province soon be- 
came an object of plunder and profit to the governor and 
his friends. 

During the peace of twenty-three years between the 
First and Second Punic Wars, Rome was engaged in 
subduing the pirates of the Adriatic and the Gauls, who 
had again begun their ravages. This time the well- 
trained legions defeated the Gauls with great slaughter, 
and all northern Italy to the foot of the Alps submitted 
to the Roman authority. At this time Greece entered 
into an alliance with the Romans and extended an invi- 
tation for them to participate in the Isthmian games. 
The Athenians hailed the people of the West as kinsmen 
and heroes, and gave them the freedom of the city. This 
was the beginning of the intercourse of Rome with the 
nations of the East. 

Second Punic War. — While the Romans were thus ex- 
tending their sway in Italy and its neighborhood, the 
Carthaginians were equally active in strengthening their 
power in the West. Hamilcar was sent into Spain to 
conquer the peninsula. For nine years he devoted his 
genius to organizing the native tribes and to developing 
the gold and silver mines in southern Spain. Hamil- 
car's son, Hannibal, a boy nine years old, had accompa- 
nied his father to Spain. Before leaving Carthage, his 



129 * 

father had led him to the altar and made him swear eter- 
nal hatred to the Roman race. 

When twenty-six years old, Hannibal became com- 
mander-in-chief of the Carthaginian armies (220 B. C.) 
and at once began preparations for war with Rome. 
His first act was to attack the Greek city of Saguntum, 
which had for years been allied to Rome, and thus pre- 
cipitated hostilities with the hated republic. Then as- 
sembling an army of 90,000 foot, 12,000 horse, and 
thirty-seven elephants, he committed the government of 
Spain to his brother, Hasdrubal, and marched towards 
the Alps, determined to carry the war into Italy. 

When he reached the Rhone he found a large army 
of Gauls drawn up on the opposite bank to dispute his 
passage. This enemy was defeated by a skillful ma- 
neuvre. A detachment of troops was sent to cross the 
stream higher up, under cover of the night, with orders 
to attack the Gauls in the rear, on a signal being given. 
" Everything being prepared he began to cross the 
stream. The Gauls rushed down to oppose him, but 
soon saw their camp behind them in flames, and after a 
short resistance, turned and fled. The Roman army 
then crossed the Rhone " — Goodrich. 

The elephants, dreading the water, could not be com- 
pelled to enter boats ; they were, therefore, conveyed 
across by floats or rafts of timber covered with earth. 
" The animals, deceived by their appearance, took 
them for firm ground and suffered themselves to be 
led upon them." — Goodrich. 

The great army now marched on up the valley of the 



130 

Rhone, obtaining supplies on the way from a Celtic 
chief, till sheer in front of them, loftier than the Pyre- 
nees, rose the Alpine peaks. " Nature and man joined 
to oppose the passage." The tremendous height and 
steepness of the mountains, capped with snow, that 
seemed to rest among the clouds, the mountaineers, of 
barbarous and fierce aspect, dressed in skins, presented a 
scene that would have daunted a less bold and deter- 
mined leader. Added to all these horrors " the season 
was now far advanced, it was October, and snow was 
falling on the higher portion of the trail." Hannibal 
seized the first pass at night while the mountaineers 
were resting. Thus gaining the advantage, the army 
pushed on up the steep ascent though often attacked by 
the hostile tribes who rolled down great rocks upon 
them from the precipices. "At times the crack of a 
whip would bring down an avalanche from the impend- 
ing heights." In places the narrow way must be cut 
wider for the monstrous bodies of the elephants. Vast 
numbers of men, horses, and elephants were lost before 
the army escaped from these dangers. On the ninth day 
they reached the summit of the Alps, where they halted 
two days to rest. Here a great fall of snow, and the 
prospect of further difficulties, disheartened the soldiers ; 
but Hannibal aroused them by the inspiring words, 
"Ye stand upon the Acropolis of Italy; yonder lies 
Rome." 

With renewed spirits they commenced the toilsome 
descent. The difficulties now increased ; the new-fallen 
snow had covered up the paths, and they lost their way. 
Along the edge of narrow precipices which went sheer 



131 * 

down into unseen depths they had to creep with careful 
steps ; the least slip and none could save them. Often 
new roads must be cut with hands benumbed w T ith cold. 

Finally the path grew easier and the valleys more fer- 
tile. "Gradually from the land of everlasting snows 
they came down into the soft warmth of the Italian 
plains." "Fifteen days in all were spent in crossing 
the Alps ; the route w T as probably the pass now known 
as Mont Cenis," though it has generally been said to be 
the Little St. Bernard. 

This is the greatest march known in ancient times, 
but it was accomplished with a fearful sacrifice of life. 
"Of the fifty thousand and more with which Hannibal 
had begun the passage, barely half that number had sur- 
vived the march, and these looked more like phantoms 
than men.' 5 Hannibal, however, w T as confident that he 
could gain the Gauls as auxiliaries, and in this he was 
not deceived. After recruiting his exhausted soldiers, 
he twice routed the Roman armies. He gained the good- 
will of the Gauls by sparing their possessions and plun- 
dering only those of the Romans. They flocked to his 
standard and became a constant and reliable part of his 
army throughout his Italian campaigns. 

The skillful generalship of Hannibal w r as constantly 
displayed, and the Roman consuls were no match for 
him. This fact was well illustrated in the battle of Tre- 
bia. The wily Carthaginian, knowing the impetuosity 
of the Romans, provoked them to a battle. It was a 
cold winter morning, and the Romans had been roused 
from their sleep to fight without having breakfasted. 
The Carthaginian cavalry, feigning a panic, fled to the 



132 

river Trevia. The Romans pursued them across the 
stream, which was swollen by a heavy fall of rain. 
' ' The water was icy cold and almost up to their necks ; 
they were hungry as well as chilled to the bone. They 
could not maintain their ground" against fresh troops of 
the enemy, and were completely routed, the greater part 
of them perishing in the river and on its banks." 

The following spring Hannibal led his army, now re- 
cruited by many Gauls, across the Apennines and south- 
ward through the flooded region of the Arno. Four 
days and three nights were consumed in wading through 
the marshes. The men suffered every hardship ; Han- 
nibal lost one of his eyes by acute inflammation, and, it 
was said, that his life was saved by his last remaining 
elephant. Notwithstanding these misfortunes he soon 
afterwards entrapped the Roman army in a mountain 
pass where they were bewildered by the- fog and com- 
pletely defeated. During this battle a dreadful earth- 
quake occurred, which destroyed many cities, overturned 
mountains, and turned rivers from their courses; but such 
was the fury of the combatants that this great convul- 
sion of nature passed unobserved. 

" Rome was now saved by the prudence of Fabius, 
who was made dictator." "He saw that the only way 
of obtaining advantage over the enemy was by harrass- 
ing and fatiguing them without coming to a decisive 
battle." "Whenever they moved he watched their 
movements, straitened their quarters, and cut off their 
provisions. The soldiers began to murmur and called 
him Cunctator or 'the Delayer.' He was even accused 
of treachery, but nothing moved him from his course; 



133 . 

thus lie gained time for the fitting out of new arma- 
ments." 

By the next summer a large army had been raised, 
and disciplined, much superior to that of Hannibal, ^but 
commanded by two consuls who did not work well to- 
gether. Varro, who had nothing to recommend him ex^ 
cept wealth and self-conceit, gave the signal for battle 
without asking advice of his colleague. The Romans at- 
tempted to break through the center of the enemy's lines. 
Hannibal, observing this, ordered part of these troops to 
give way and allow the Romans to advance until they 
were surrounded. A chosen body of cavalry then fell 
upon their flanks and a horrible massacre occurred. 
Twenty-one tribunes, eighty senators, and from fifty to 
seventy thousand men were slain. This was the great- 
est defeat the Romans ever sustained. "Thousands of 
rings gathered from the hands of nobles wdio lay dead 
upon the field were sent as trophies to Carthage." 

"The road lay open to Rome. 'Let me advance in- 
stantly with the horse,' urged the commander of the 
cavalry, ' and in four days thou shalt sup in the capitol.' 
Hannibal refused. 'Alas,' said the disappointed officer, 
'thou knowest how to gain a victory, but not how to use 
one.' " — Quackenbos. 

Great was the consternation at Rome. One-fifth of all 
the citizens able to bear arms had fallen in the disastrous 
campaign and every house was in mourning. In this 
hour of despair the senate stood calm and firm. Hanni- 
bal sent an embassy to offer terms of peace, the Senate 
would not permit the ambassadors to enter the gates. 
Hannibal withdrew his army to wealthy Capua, which 



134 

opened its gates without resistance and became the win- 
ter quarters of the army. Southern Italy generally de- 
clared for the victor and Macedon and Syracuse also 
joined the Carthaginian, but the Latin cities never 
swerved for a moment from their loyalty. 

The Roman Empire in Italy stood firm as a rock, and, 
maintaining war not only in Italy but in Spain, began 
slowly to win back what it had lost. 

Siege of Syracuse, — After a siege of eight months Syr- 
acuse was captured by the Romans under Marcellus. It 
had been defended chiefly by the ingenuity of the famous 
mathematician, Archimedes. "He contrived stupen- 
dous engines which discharged masses of stone, and 
huge iron grapples that seized the Roman ships when 
they approached the walls, raised them in the air, and 
dashed them into the water. He is also said to have set 
fire to the hostile fleet by means of mirrors, and so terri- 
fied the Romans with his machines that at the sight of a, 
rope or a stick on the walls they fled in dismay." 
- — Quackenbos. 

At length, during a festival of Diana, the city was 
taken (212 B. C.) and given up to pillage. Treasures of 
Grecian art, paintings and sculpture, which adorned this 
famous colony of ancient Hellas, were now removed to 
Rome. During the confusion of the pillage Archimedes 
perished. " He was engaged in study, when a Roman 
soldier rushed upon him and bade him follow to Mar- 
cellus. ' Wait,' said the Philosopher, l till I have fin- 
ished this problem ' ; whereupon the soldier, incensed at 
the delay, drew his sword and killed him." Syracuse 



135 „ 

never recovered from the blow inflicted upon her at this 
time by the relentless Romans. 

Close of the war. — Meanwhile their luxurious city 
quarters were enervating the soldiers of Hannibal, and 
when called again into the field thej were no longer 
equal to the fatigues of the war. 

Before the fall of Syracuse the Romans laid siege to 
Capua. Hannibal hastened to the relief of the city, but 
not succeeding in breaking the lines of the besiegers he 
attempted to frighten them away by making a bold dash 
on Rome. In this he was disappointed, for the city was 
provided with defenders. It is said that Hannibal rode 
up to the very walls and discharged a javelin into the 
city. Fearing to undertake the siege of Rome, he re- 
treated into Southern Italy, leaving Capua to her fate. 
It was soon taken and " paid the penalty that Rome 
never failed to inflict on an unfaithful ally." Its chief 
citizens were put to death, and great numbers of the in- 
habitants sold as slaves. The city was reduced to the 
rank of a village, being deprived of all political rights. 

In the year following, Tarentum was taken and, as a 
last resource, Hannibal looked eagerly for assistance 
from his brother in Spain. Here Hasdrubal had de- 
feated and killed two Roman generals, and then leaving 
the conduct of the war to others, followed about the same 
route formerly taken by Hannibal. 

In 207 B. C. he descended the Alps upon the plain of 
Northern Italy, while Hannibal moved northward to 
meet him. "But the junction was never effected, for 
Hasdrubal's army was cut to pieces and its leader slain. 
His disfigured head flung into the camp was brought to 



136 

Hannibal, who cried out on beholding it, ' Ah ! Car- 
thage, I see thy doom.' " — Quackenbos. 

11 Somewhat later the Romans sent an army into 
Africa, and Hannibal (after an absence of nineteen 
years, fifteen of which were occupied in Italy) was re- 
called to defend his country from Scipio, but without 
success. The battle of Zama, 202 B. C. (see Allen's his- 
tory) annihilated the last hope of Carthage, and forced 
her to submit to a disgraceful peace. Thus ended the 
second Punic war. In honor of his great victories, 
Scipio was surnamed Africanus." : — Quackenbos. 

Death of Hannibal. — Hannibal now proved himself as 
capable in the field of administration as in the conduct 
of war. "The reforms instituted by him in his native 
city enabled his countrymen not only to pay the indem- 
nity demanded by the Romans but rapidly to regain 
their former prosperity." — Allen. The Romans, be- 
holding his work with jealous eye, demanded his sur- 
render. He fled to the court of Antiochus, who ruled 
the kingdom from the iEgean sea beyond the Tigris. 
When that king submitted to the Romans he sought ref- 
uge in an adjoining country. Still finding himself pur- 
sued by the vindictive Romans he ended his life by 
taking poison which he carried in a hollow ring. Thus 
perished one of the greatest captains of antiquity in the 
sixty-eighth year of his life (183 B. C). 

Third Punic war. — In a little more than half a cen- 
tury Rome, by successful campaigns in Greece and Asia 
Minor, had obtained her first Asiatic province of Perga- 
mus, as well as the provinces of Greece and Macedonia. 
(See Grecian history.) The same year that saw the fall 



137 

of Corinth witnessed also the destruction of Carthage. 
This city had again become wealthy and prosperous. 
Ships crowded her harbors and the country for miles 
around was a beautiful garden. The jealousy of Rome 
was aroused. Marcus Cato was sent as an ambassador 
to Africa, and on his return he is said to have presented 
a bunch of figs to the senate, saying "They are yet 
fresh. They came from Carthage. So near to us are 
our enemies, Delenda est Carthago!" (Carthage must be 
destroyed. ) 

The senate at last was moved by the constant denun- 
ciations of Cato, who never rose to speak or vote on any 
subject without adding the words, " I also think that 
Carthage should be destroyed.' ' They soon found a 
pretext and issued a decree for the destruction of 
Carthage, permitting the inhabitants to build another 
city not nearer to the sea than ten miles. 

" This was too much, even for a conquered people; 
they preferred a hopeless resistance. All classes labored 
incessantly to strengthen the fortifications of the city ; 
prisoners were set free, and their chains forged into 
weapons ; statues, vases — even gold and silver — were 
melted down for the same purpose, and the women 
braided their flowing locks into bow-strings." — Quack- 
enbos. . (Their arms and military stores had a short time 
before been surrendered to the Romans. ) 

In spite of these efforts, Scipio, the adopted son of 
Scipio Africanus, took the city after a three-years' siege, 
and burned it to the ground. A plough was driven over 
the site and a dreadful curse invoked upon any one who 
should attempt to rebuild it. The territory possessed by 



138 

''Carthage at the time of its fall was made the province 
of Africa, with Utica as its capital." 

Scipio, surveying the ruins of the city he had con- 
quered, could not refrain from tears. The thought that 
such might some time be the fate of his own city came 
to his mind, and. he sadly repeated the words of Homer : 

"Yet come it will, the day decreed by fate, 
The day when thou, imperial Troy, must bend, 
And see thy warriors fall, thy glories end." 

(See character of Scipio. Page 144, Myers.) 
Decay of the Republic— The Roman power by means 
of two or more centuries of conquest had obtained pos- 
session first of Italy, then of nearly all the countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean. The Roman Repub- 
lic was now "mistress of the civilized world," but she had 
reached the summit of her greatness. She became proud 
and cruel. Her unjust wars for the sake of glory robbed 
her of her old time virtue, which had been her strength. 
The provinces were the principal source of corruption. 
The revenues extorted from them were enough to sup- 
port Rome in idleness. The people of the provinces had 
no redress from the cruelties practiced upon them, for 
their own courts of justice had no authority over their 
conquerors. It is related that Flaminius, when com- 
manding an army in Cisalpine Gaul, caused a noble 
Gaul to be beheaded for the amusement of his favorite of- 
ficers. The man was guilty of no offense, but the pleas- 
ing spectacle of his death was to compensate for the 
gladiatorial shows at Rome which they had missed. 
Flaminius was removed from the senate by the censors, 
but the courts had no power to punish him. 



139 • 

Cato was known for the severity with which he dis- 
charged his duty as censor of the public morals. For 
nearly half a century he was the leading politician of 
Rome. He contended against luxurious living and de- 
basement of character and set an example by the purity 
and simplicity of his own life. Though he was a model 
in personal integrity, energy, and ability in war and in 
statesmanship, he was devoid of generosity and nobility 
of character. The indirect influence of his teachings 
was to emphasize what was selfish and ungenerous in 
Roman policy. It. was he who urged the destruction of 
Carthage and the extension of the mischievous provin- 
cial system. He thought the degeneracy of character 
due to the fashionable Greek culture of the day. It 
must be admitted that the Greeks were not what they 
had been, and their art, literature, and philosophy at this 
age possessed no elevating or ennobling power. The doc- 
trines of the Greek Epicurus were eagerly embraced by 
the* Romans of the empire. Epicurus said : " Be vir- 
tuous because virtue will bring the greatest amount of 
happiness." The disciples of this corrupt age carried 
the teachings of their master to an excess he would have 
been first to condemn. Their whole philosophy was ex- 
pressed in the proverb : " Let us eat, drink, and be 
merry, for tomorrow we die.'" 

"As a result of the many wars, slaves had multiplied 
to an alarming extent. Numbers of these were trained 
as gladiators. Others cultivated the public lands, while 
the poor freeman could scarcely make a living." — 
Quackenbos. The simple peasant no longer cultivated 
his small farm. When Hannibal swept through the 



140 

country with fire and sword he destroyed all these rural 
homes and reduced great districts to a condition where 
they fell an easy prey to speculators. These wealthy 
land-owners had transformed Italy into a country of 
great landed estates cultivated by slaves. As free labor 
can never exist by the side of slave labor, the peas- 
ants nocked to the city to be fed, amused, and humored 
by office-seekers who wished their votes. It was cus- 
tomary for a candidate to amuse the people with costly 
games and the governors of provinces kept the Roman 
populace in good humor by sending back gifts of grain. 
There was no substantial industry or commerce as at 
the present time, and no means were taken to enlighten 
and refine the community by science, literature, or reli- 
gion. It is no wonder that they sank into a mere mob 
that threatened the destruction of their country. 

A great change, had also taken place in the army. 
The soldier no longer retired to his little farm when he 
had fought his country's battles, but was a soldier by 
profession. He fought for plunder and glory, not for 
love of country and for the protection of his own fire- 
side. 

The days of Fabricius were forgotten ; presents from 
foreign kings were now received at Rome and generals 
and statesmen demanded money everywhere. The Ro- 
mans became cruel and unjust, thus bringing about a 
century of civil strife which ended the republic. Never- 
theless six great names were connected with the ensuing 
centuries ; and, through the influence of those great 
leaders, the earliest years of the empire became the 
palmiest in Roman history. These names are : The 



141 * 

Gracchi, Marius, Cicero, Caesar and Octavian. — -Adopted 
from Allen, Barnes and Myers. 



THE CIVIL WARS. 

The Reforms of the Gracchi. — Moved by the distress 
that prevailed among the lower classes, Tiberius and 
Cams Gracchus became noted champions in the cause 
of the people. They were grandsons of Scipio Africanus, 
and had been carefully and wisely brought up by their 
mother, Cornelia, a noble Roman lady. She had re- 
fused an offer of marriage with the king of Egypt in or- 
der that she might devote herself to the education of her 
sons. 

The following story is a familiar one to all readers of 
history : 

A rich lady friend was once exhibiting to Cornelia a 
casket of rare gems. When asked what her jewels were, 
the mother called in her two sons, saying, "These are 
my jewels." 

The Gracchi, as they were called, became the most 
popular orators that Rome ever produced. They boldly 
proclaimed the rights of the people. 

Tiberius first became tribune and secured the passage 
of a law directing the division of the public lands into 
homesteads for the needy. Attalus, king of Pergamus, a 
country in Asia Minor, bequeathed his vast riches to the 
Roman people. Tiberius proposed that, as the poorer 
classes had just been allotted small portions of land, the 
money should be divided amongst them, in order that 
they might stock their farms and build houses. "Be- 



142 

fore this plan could be carried out ; his year of office ex- 
pired, and unwilling to see the good he had begun left 
unfinished, he offered himself for re*-election, though 
this was contrary to law." — Mary Ford. On the day 
when the election was held, the nobles aroused a mob, 
who attacked Tiberius and his friends. There in the 
Roman Forum he and three hundred of his followers 
were killed and their bodies thrown into the Tiber. 
Never before had the forum been disgraced by such a 
scene of violence and bloodshed. 

The fate of his brother Tiberius did not prevent Caius 
Gracchus from pursuing a similar course in the interest 
of the people. The Senate, fearing him, had appointed 
him magistrate in. Sardinia for three years. Returning 
to Rome before that time he was summoned before the 
Senate to be publicly rebuked and expelled; "but he 
appealed to the people in a stirring speech. Caius had 
given years of study to attain perfection in the art of or- 
atory ; indeed, he was so careful in the modulation of 
his voice that a slave, standing behind him with a flute, 
gave him the proper note on which to begin, and the 
result was soon seen in the effect he produced on his 
audiences. The people were charmed with his elo- 
quence, and when he put himself up for election as 
tribune, they thronged in such numbers to vote for 
him that even the house-tops were crowded. His brother 
Tiberius had been very dear to him, and in all his 
speeches he bitterly reproached the plebeians for allow- 
ing him to be slain." — Mary Ford. 

Caius was chosen tribune in 123 B. C. He was par- 
ticularly anxious for the distribution of the public lands 



i 



143 * 

and the sale of corn at a low price among the poor. The 
latter was a very unwise measure, for it was not long be- 
fore the people were living in vicious indolence and 
feeding at the public expense. As the public lands of 
Italy had been mostly taken up, he proposed to establish 
twelve colonies in the provinces, and himself carried a 
body of settlers to the abandoned site of Carthage. 

Other measures favored by Caius were bitterly op- 
posed by the nobles, and the influence of Gracchus de- 
pending upon the support of a fickle people, he lost his 
election and became a private citizen. Such an intense 
excitement occurred when the senate attempted to repeal 
the laws that Caius had made that the two parties came 
into collision. Caius sought death at the hands of a 
faithful slave to prevent capture by his enemies. 

"Cornelia survived her sons for many years. When 
she died, her early hope was fulfilled, and on the bronze 
statue raised to her memory in the forum were carved 
the words : ' Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi.' " — 
Mary Ford. 

With the Gracchi perished the real freedom of the re- 
public, henceforth the power of the state was wielded by 
a corrupt and insolent aristocracy. 

Marius and Sulla. — Soon after the death of Gracchi 
there arose two Roman leaders named Marius and Sulla. 
"They were ambitious not for the welfare of their fel- 
low-men, and for right, honor, and noble deeds, but for 
themselves." 

Sulla was a patrician and Marius was a representative 
of the plebeians. Marius was the son of a poor villager 
and passed his early life in the labors of the field. " His 



144 

manners were boorish, his countenance frightful and his 
stature gigantic ; his only virtue appears to have been 
personal bravery and military talent." Sulla on the 
contrary was " elegant, refined, and accomplished to the 
finger tips," and though younger than Marius soon be- 
came his rival in military exploits. In the war with 
Jugurtha, a prince who had taken violent possession of 
all Numidia, on the northern coast of Africa, Marius 
was consul and conducted the campaign ; Sulla was a 
young officer under his command. 

By his own desire Sulla was sent on a dangerous er- 
rand to accomplish the treacherous seizure of Jugurtha. 
His success in this attempt emboldened him to claim 
himself as victor and to have a ring made representing 
Jugurtha's surrender to him, though the Consul Marius 
received all the honors at Rome. Henceforth Marius 
and Sulla were bitter rivals. — Adapted 'from Butterworth, 
Goodrich, Mary Ford, Allen, and Myers. 

The Cimbri and Teutones.— (113-110 B. C.)— While 
half of the Roman army was in Africa, an invasion from 
the barbaric tribes of the north swept over the new prov- 
ince of Transalpine Gaul and threatened Italy. Two 
German tribes called the Cimbri and Teutones had left 
their forests and were seeking new homes in the south. 
They traveled in wagons, bringing with them their prop- 
erty, wives, and children. The Celtic tribes were no 
match for this multitude of gigantic savages and fled be- 
fore them as they advanced. Several Roman armies 
were cut to pieces in Gaul and the senate in despair ap- 
pealed to Caius Marius as the only man who could save 
the state. For two or three successive years, while the 



145 * 

victorious Germans roamed through Gaul and Spain, 
Marius was again and again reinstated consul. It was 
contrary to law but the safety of the state demanded it. 

At last the invaders again set their faces towards 
Italy, and Marius, accompanied by Sulla, as one of his 
most skillful lieutenants, hastened into northern Italy. 
The barbarians having divided, he hurried over the 
Alps, met the Teutons not far from Marseilles and al- 
most annihilated the entire host. The Cimbri, in the 
meantime, had entered Italy by the eastern Alps and 
were ravaging the rich plains of the Po. They were 
met the following year, 101 B. C, by Marius and his 
colleague. The lines of the barbarians were drawn up 
in a body nearly three miles square, the men of the 
outer ranks being linked together by chains passed 
through their belts. This proved their ruin, for the 
Romans hewed their way through to the wagons, which 
were placed in the center. There the women, assisted 
by the dogs, fought as desperately as the men, but were 
soon overpowered by the trained legions. None could 
escape and the few who survived were sold as slaves in 
the Roman markets. Great were the rejoicings at Rome 
over these two great victories, and Marius was hailed 
as " Savior of his country " and " third founder of the 
city." For the present, indeed, Rome was saved, but 
this horde of barbarians that had been slaughtered was 
but the vanguard of those northern hosts that, five hun- 
dred years later, spread desolation throughout the em- 
pire and broke it into fragments. — Adapted. 

Servile and Social Wars. — The popularity of Marius 
was now at its height, and five times running he was 



146 

elected consul. Scarcely was the war with the barbar- 
ians at an end, before a second uprising of the slaves 
took place in Sicily. As before, the slaves chose a for- 
tune-teller for their leader. The rebellion was soon 
crushed, and a number of the slaves were brought to 
fight as gladiators in the Roman theatre ; there, one by 
one, they killed each other, till the last man fell upon 
his own sword. 

"Marius now put himself up for election as consul 
for the sixth time, and there being no necessity for this 
illegal proceeding, the people suspected him of wanting 
to get all the power of the state into his own hands, and 
his popularity began to decline." — -Mary Ford. 

The important question at Rome was now that of the 
Italian allies, who were more and more impatient to ob- 
tain Roman citizenship. At last, when hopeless of suc- 
cess by legislation, the Italians attempted to gain their 
rights by violence. This contest, called the Social War, 
was kept up for two years, with successes on both sides. 
" Marius obtained two great victories over the others, 
though his soldiers fought very unwillingly, recognizing 
in the opposite ranks many of their own friends and 
kinsmen." — Mary Ford. 

After thousands of lives had been sacrificed and plan- 
tations laid waste the senate granted what it had so 
churlishly refused at the begining of the war, namely, 
the citizenship of the Italian states. At a later time, in the 
days of the empire, this franchise was extended to all the 
free inhabitants of the provinces beyond the confines of 
Italy. 

First Mithridatic War. — Just before the close of the 



147 • 

social war, news came to Rome that Mithrida'tes the 
Great, king of Pontus, had proclaimed himself deliverer 
of Asia Minor from the Roman yoke. The Romans ap- 
pointed Sulla to conduct the war against the king. Ma- 
rius was very angry, and by unscrupulous means man- 
aged to wrest the command from his rival. Sulla now 
led his legions to Rome, and, for the first time since the 
founding of Rome, civil war existed within the walls of 
the city. 

• Marius, deserted by a large number of his men, was 
obliged to take to flight. After many adventures he at 
last crossed the Mediterranean and reached the ruins of 
Carthage. "Here he lived in a hut. He was an old 
man now — over seventy years old — and one would have 
thought that his exile would have softened his heart and 
led him to long for the virtues that bring peace to the 
soul. He once said to a messenger from Rome, ' Go tell 
your master that you have seen Caius Marius sitting an 
exile amid the ruins of Carthage.' " — Butterworth. 

"Meanwhile Sulla's career in the East was a series of 
victories. Athens, which had revolted to Mithrida'tes, 
was taken by storm. Greece and Asia Minor were con- 
quered, and the king submitted to a humiliating peace. " 
— QuackeriboS: 

Return of Marius. — -After Sulla's departure Marius 
was recalled from exile by his friends at Rome. He 
now took a fearful revenge for all he had suffered. He 
closed the gates of the city and caused all whom he con- 
sidered his enemies to be slaughtered. "Finally, the 
monster had himself declared consul for the seventh 



148 

time." " Was lie happy? Amid his cruel triumph he 
fell sick. His sufferings were terrible. He imagined 
himself Sulla, and at the head of the army in Asia. 
'Mithridates ! ' he was heard to cry. He shouted orders 
to the imaginary army of Sulla/ and so warring in his 
dreams he became exhausted by frenzy, and sunk into 
the sleep of death." — Butterworth. 

Eeturn of Sulla. — Sulla returned and soon all Italy 
lay prostrate before him. The plebeians and friends of 
Marius now had cause for fear. Again the streets of 
Rome ran red with blood. "The massacres of Marius, 
however, were kind and gentle compared with the pro- 
scriptions of Sulla; every day he published new lists of 
those condemned to die, until the number of victims 
could be reckoned by thousands." — Mary Ford. "The 
possession of property was a sufficient offense. 'Alas ! ' 
exclaimed one who read his name among the doomed, 
'my villa is my destruction.' Even whole states of It- 
aly which had sided with Marius were depopulated to 
make room for colonies of Sulla's legions." — Quackenbos. 

"When Sulla had taken possession of the supreme 
power in Rome, and was looking over the list of public 
men, in order to arrange a new system of government, 
his eye met a name which caused him to hesitate. It 
was Julius Caesar. He was born July 12, 100 B. C." — 
Butterworth. 

" It was a name of destiny. Julius Csesar was to con- 
quer the world for Rome, and Rome for himself, and 
well might Sulla pause at that name. Caesar was a 
young man then. He was a patrician by birth, a de- 
scendant from a long line of noble families, related by 



149 * 

marriage to Marius. Though a patrician, his heart had 
turned to the popular party. 

" Sulla was about to place Caesar's name on the pro- 
scribed list, when his many powerful friends interceded 
in his behalf. Sulla suspended judgment, but ordered 
Csesar to give up his wife, who was a daughter of Cinna, 
a partisan of Marius. 

"Csesar refused to be false to his wife and friends, 
and fled from the city. Then Sulla proscribed him, and 
deprived him of his offices and titles, and treated him as 
one of the enemies of Rome." 

"Csesar had studied Greek, and was a master of rhet- 
oric and history. His heart was given to the prepara- 
tion for a public career. In his exile he went to Rhodes, 
where he met a former preceptor, and continued his 
studies, wishing to become a master of oratory. Sulla 
died, and Csesar cautiously returned to Rome." — Butter- 
worth. 

(See description of forum, "Little Arthur's History 
of Rome," page 102.) 

"He appeared in the forum as an orator and a cham- 
pion of the people. His oratory carried the popular 
feeling ; he soon found himself a hero, and his power 
grew. Here Csesar delivered two funeral orations over 
members of his own family, and in them pleaded the 
cause of the rights of the people. 

"He was elected to office, and he rose from one posi- 
tion of influence to another, until he was made qusestor, 
and was finally elected consul. 

" His rise was not altogether honorable. He spent 
his wealth in entertainments and public shows, to in- 



150 

fluence the people for political ends. He studied the 
art of pleasing the people for his own advancement. 
But he was a patrician who had espoused the cause of 
the people, and for this reason he became the idol of 
Rome. Wherever he went, the streets shouted ; wher- 
ever he sat down, he was the head of the festal table. 
His ambition grew ; like Alexander, he must have the 
earth — nothing less would content him. — Adapted. 

" But before we go further, we must tell you some- 
thing in regard to his great rival, Pompey. This hero 
conquered the East, while Caesar subdued the West. 
(To be continued.) — Butterworth. 

Pompey the Great. — " Caius Pompeius Magnus, or 
Pompey the Great, was born 106 B. C. He was a par- 
tisan of Sulla and was bred to the life of a soldier. He 
took a prominent part in the civil wars, and, becoming 
a popular hero, was elected consul. He left the aristo- 
cratic party and became a leader and voice of the people. 

11 In 67-66 he drove the pirates from the Mediter- 
ranean ; in 65-62 he conquered Mithridates, and Anti- 
ochus, king of Syria. He subdued the Jewish nation, 
captured Jerusalem, entered the Holy of Plolies in the 
Jewish temple, and made Palestine a province of Rome. 
He entered Rome in triumph in 61 B. C. He became a 
friend of Caesar, and the united heroes joined with them 
in their political schemes, Crassus, a man of great 
wealth and influence in Rome. The three were called 
the First Triumvirate." — Butterworth. 

Julius Caesar (Continued). — Caesar's first province 
was Spain. Before going to take possession of it, he 
was obliged to apply to Crassus to satisfy those creditors 



151 * 

who were most uneasy and would not be put off any 
longer. In his journey, as he was crossing the Alps 
and passing by a small village of the barbarians, with 
but few inhabitants and those wretchedly poor, he re- 
marked, "For my part, I had rather be the first man 
among these fellows than the second man in Rome." 

The military life of this wonderful commander had at 
last begun, when he was forty years old. His friends 
once found him in tears while reading the history of 
Alexander. When asked why he wept, he said, " Do 
you think I have not just cause to weep when I con- 
sider that Alexander, at my age, had conquered so many 
nations, and I have, all this time, done nothing that is 
memorable." 

Caesar found Spain in a very rebellious state, but with 
great energy and skill he soon reduced it to submission 
and established a just and firm rule. "By this wise 
management he was able to leave his province with a 
fair reputation ; being rich himself and having enriched 
his soldiers and received from them the honorable name 
of Imperator." 

In less than a year he returned to Rome, and, being 
doubly supported by Pompey and Crassus, was pro- 
moted to the consulship. 

The days of Roman liberty were now at an end. 
Henceforth the government was in the hands of ambi- 
tious leaders. Three great men were now at the head of 
affairs in Rome — Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Caesar 
was, however, the master as well of the senate as of the 
people. By his influence, an agrarian law was passed, 
for the division of some public lands among the poorer 



152 

citizens. The best and most honorable of the senators 
opposed it, but this gave him a pretext to appeal to the 
people and convince them of his devotion to their cause. 
Everything now gave way to Csesar ; even Cicero, whose 
opposition they feared, was banished. (See stories of 
Cato and Cicero, " Little Arthur's History of Rome.") 
Caesar's desire now was to have an arm}^ at his com- 
mand ; this he obtained, being appointed to the charge 
of the provinces of Gaul, both Cisalpine and Transal- 
pine, for five years. — Adapted from Plutarch, Goodrich, 
and Allen. 

Physical Gaul. — Gaul (Gallia) was the name given by 
the ancients to that country which extended from the 
Pyrenees to the Alps and the Rhine, embracing modern 
France and Belgium, with part of Holland and Switzer- 
land and a small part of Germany. 

The surface of France exhibits, in general, an advan- 
tageous succession of highland and lowland. Less level 
than Poland, northern Germany, and European Russia, 
it is on the whole less mountainous than Spain and 
Italy, and may with great propriety be compared with 
England. In France the mountainous districts are in 
the south and east, and may be said to be to that coun- 
try what Wales and Scotland are to Great Britain. 

The region in which the olive tree is cultivated is lim- 
ited by a line from the Garonne to Lyons, on the Rhone ; 
the region of the vine from the mouth of the Loire to 
Sedan; and the northern region is characterized by the 
apple tree. 

The cultivation of grain has always been the chief 
business of French agriculturists. The quantity of 



153 * 

wheat produced in France, large as it is, does not at 
present meet the wants of the population, and great 
quantities are every day imported from Russia, Prussia, 
Roumania, Egypt, and America. 

France is but inadequately supplied with harbors, her 
long tract of coast, washed by the Atlantic and the Bay 
of Biscay, has scarcely three or four good seaports, and 
those on the southern shore of the channel form a strik- 
ing contrast to the spacious inlets on the English side. 
Cal'ais, one of the best harbors in the north, is not to be 
compared with Dover. Le Havre De Grace, at the 
mouth of the Seine, is the best mercantile harbor in the 
north of France. Brest, in Brittany, is the great mari- 
time port on the Atlantic for the navy. Bordeaux is sit- 
uated on the Garonne, where the river is nearly equal in 
width to the Thames in London. Nantes, at the mouth 
of the Loire, is now connected with Liverpool by a reg- 
ular service of steamers. On the Mediterranean, France 
has the ports of Marseilles, the most spacious and secure 
on the coast, Nice, and the great maritime port, arsenal 
and dock-yard of Toulon. — Compiled from Britannica. 

Ancient People of Gaul. — "The history of France may 
well begin with the words which open Caesar's famous 
chronicle: 'Gaul is divided into three parts.' The 
southwest part was inhabited by a people of darker com- 
plexion, less sociable, less bright, and not of Aryan race. 
The descendants of these people still dwell amid the fast- 
nesses of the Pyrenees, in the Basque provinces of Spain, 
and differ alike from the Spaniards and Frenchmen. In 
the north, some German tribes had crossed the Rhine, 



154 

but with these exceptions the inhabitants were of the 
Celtic race, called Celts or Gauls." — Britannica. 

Description of Ancient Gauls. — (See p. 371, Barnes.; 

Csesar Enters Gaul. — At the time Caesar was appointed 
governor of Gaul, the Romans had possession of the col- 
ony of Nar'bonen'sis, the territory between the Pyrenees 
and the Alps, except that which belonged to the Greek 
republic of Massilia. " West of the Rhone the province 
was separated from free Gaul by the Cevennes Mount- 
ains ; east of these mountains the Rhone and its tribu- 
tary, the Saone, afforded a direct passage into the heart 
of Europe. It was by this natural route that Caesar ad- 
vanced in his schemes of conquest." — Allen. 

When Csesar entered Gaul, he found the natives in a 
half -barbarous state, split up into about sixty clans, each 
with its elected chieftain, its Druids or priests, and its 
bodies of warriors or horsemen. 

(See Life of Caesar, Plutarch.) 

Csesar in Gaul. — Thus far we have followed Caesar's 
actions before the war with Gaul. After this he seems 
to begin his course afresh, and to enter upon a new life 
and scene of action. 

"His first war in Gaul was against the Helvetians, 
who inhabited modern Switzerland. Dissatisfied with 
their rugged country they burned their own towns, 
twelve in number, and four hundred villages, and pro- 
posed to migrate across the country to the shores of the 
Bay of Biscay. He considered their restlessness a 
menace to the Roman province of Gaul, and, conse- 
quently marched against them. These people were not 
inferior in courage to the Cimbri and Teutons. After 



155 

a lon^ and severe combat he drove the main armv out 
of the field, but found the hardest work at their car- 
riages and ramparts, where not only the men stood and 
fought, but the women, also, and children, defended 
themselves till they were cut to pieces. Gathering to- 
gether those who had escaped out of the battle he 
obliged them to re-occujDy the country which they had 
deserted and the cities which they had burned. This 
he did for fear the Germans should pass it and possess 
themselves of the land while it lay uninhabited. 

" His second war was in defense of the Gauls against 
the Germans. But, finding his officers timorous, Caesar 
called them together and advised them to march off, 
and not run the hazard of a battle against their incli- 
nations, since they had such weak and unmanly feel- 
ings. ' I will take only the tenth legion and march 
against the barbarians whom I do not expect to find 
more formidable than the Cimbri, nor shall they find 
me a general inferior to Marius.' Upon this the tenth 
legion sent their acknowledgments and thanks, and the 
other legions blamed their officers, with great vigor and 
zeal, followed him many days' journey till they en- 
camped within two hundred furlongs of the enemy." 
— Plutarch. 

The defeat of these Germans under Ariovistus, which 
soon took place, was an event of great moment in the 
history of the world, for by it the onward movement of 
the Germans was arrested, and held in check for nearly 
five hundred years. " After this action Caesar left his 
army at their winter quarters in Gaul, and, in order to 
attend to affairs at Rome, stationed himself in Cisal- 



156 

pine Gaul, in the valley of the Po. There he sat down 
and employed himself in courting the tavor of the 
people ; great numbers coming to him continually, and 
always rinding their requests answered ; for he never 
failed to dismiss all with pleasant pledges of his kind- 
ness in hand, and further hopes for the future." 

Narrow Escape in the Belgian Forests. — (See Plu- 
tarch.) 

Conquests in Germany and Britain. — " Csesar was am- 
bitious of the honor of being the first man that should 
pass the Rhine with an army. Early in the spring of 
55 B. C, he constructed a bridge across the Rhine and 
led his legions against the Germans in their native 
woods and swamps." When he had burned the enemies' 
country, and encouraged those who embraced the Roman 
interest, he went back into Gaul, after eighteen days' 
stay in Germany. But his expedition into Britain was 
the most famous testimony of his courage. For he was 
the first who brought a navy into the western ocean or 
who sailed into the Atlantic with an army to make war ; 
and by invading an island whose existence was even 
questioned at that time, he might be said to have carried 
the Roman Empire beyond the limits of the known 
world. He passed thither twice from that part of Gaul 
which lies over against it, and in several battles which 
he fought did more hurt to the enemy than service to 
himself, for the islanders were so miserably poor that 
they had nothing worth being plundered of. When he 
found himself unable to put such an end to the war as he 
wished, he was content to take hostages from the king, 



157 * 

and to impose a tribute, and then quitted the island." — 
Plutarch. 

Character of Csesar. — " The period of the conquest of 
Gaul and Britain shows Caesar to have been a soldier and 
general not the least inferior to any of the greatest and 
most admired commanders who had ever appeared at the 
head of armies. 

"Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their at- 
tachment to his person, that they, who, under other 
commanders, were nothing above the common rate of 
men, became invincible when Caesar's glory was con- 
cerned, and met the most dreadful dangers with a cour- 
age which nothing could resist. 

" This courage, and this great ambition, were culti- 
vated and cherished, in the first place, by the generous 
manner in which Caesar rewarded his troops, and the 
honors which he paid them. His whole conduct showed 
that he did not accumulate riches to minister to luxury, or 
to serve any pleasures of his own, but that he considered 
himself no farther rich than he was in a condition to do 
justice to the merit of his soldiers. 

"Another thing that contributed to make them invinci- 
ble was their seeing Caesar always take his share of the 
danger, and never desire any exemption from labor and 
fatigue. As for his exposing his person to danger, they 
were not surprised, for they knew his passion for glory, 
but they were astonished at his patience under toil, so 
far, in all appearance, above his bodily powers, for he 
was of a slender make, fair, of a delicate constitution, 
and subject to violent headaches and epileptic fits. He 
did not, however, make these disorders a pretense for 



158 

indulging himself. On the contrary, he sought in war 
a remedy for his infirmities, endeavoring to strengthen 
his constitution by long marches, by simple diet, by sel- 
dom coming under cover. Thus he contended against 
his distemper, and fortified himself against its attacks. 

"When he slept it was commonly upon a march, 
either in a chariot or a litter, that rest might be no hin- 
drance to the business. In daytime he visited the 
castles, cities, and fortified camps with a servant at his 
side, and with a soldier behind who carried his sword. 
He drove so rapidly that when he first left Rome he ar- 
rived at the river Rhone within eight days. He had 
been an expert rider from his childhood, for it was usual 
with him to sit with his hands joined behind his back, 
and so, to put his horse to its full speed. And in this 
war, he disciplined himself so far as to be able to dictate 
letters from on horseback, and to give directions to two 
who took notes at the same time, or as Oppius says, ' to 
more.' " 

Thus he dictated his famous commentaries which fur- 
nish us a faithful and graphic account of his marches, 
battles, and sieges, besides being admired for their ele- 
gance and style. 

" Caesar remained nine years in Gaul. During that 
time he took eight hundred cities by assault, conquered 
three hundred nations, and fought pitched battles at dif- 
ferent times with three million of men, one million of 
which he slaughtered and made another million pris- 
oners . ' ' — Plutarch . 

Result of Csesar's Conquests. — "The newly con- 
quered territory was divided into three districts, the 



159 - 

northern, southwestern, and central, the latter of which 
took its name from the city at the junction of the Rhone 
and Saone, Lugdu'um (Lyons). The conquest of Gaul 
was perhaps the most important the Romans had yet 
made outside of their natural boundaries. It was not a 
large source of revenue, and that was well, but it was a 
broad, fertile land, occupied by a people who readily 
adopted Roman institutions and civilization, and who 
speedily became Romanized. Gaul became a seat of 
flourishing trade and of well-conducted schools. Its sit- 
uation, giving access at once to Britain and to Germany, 
made it, in the latter empire, the center of civilization 
and power in Western Europe." — Allen. 

Rivalry between Caesar and Pompey. — " Caesar had 
long ago resolved upon the overthrow of Pompey as had 
Pompey upon his. For Crassus, the fear of whom had 
hitherto kept them in peace, having now been killed in 
Parthiaj the one who wished to make himself the great- 
est man in Rome had onlv to overthrow the other." — 

%j 

Plutarch. " Caesar became more and more a favorite of 
the people and .Pompey went over to the patrician or ar- 
istocratic party, and endeavored to deprive Caesar of his 
offices and honors." — Butterworlh. (See Myers.) 

11 The senate, coming under the influence of the peace 
party, ordered both Caesar and Pompey to lay down 
arms. Caesar declared that he was ready to do this, if 
Pompey would do the same ; but Pompey stubbornly re- 
fused." The next year the war party ordered Caesar to 
give up his command. Mark Antony and Cassius, who 
supported Caesar, were driven from the senate. They 



160 

fled to Caesar's camp, in Cisalpine Gaul, and demanded 
protection." — Allen. 

March upon Rome. — " Caesar at once marched upon 
Rome. ' The die is cast.' So Caesar is reported to have 
said on crossing the Rubicon. The river was in Cisal- 
pine Gaul, on the boundary of the Roman Empire. 
Caesar crossed the stream in disobedience to the senate, 
and to the Roman law, which forbade a general to ap- 
proach Rome with his army, after a foreign war, except 
when invited to a triumph. The Rubicon was a small 
stream, and the territory around it of little worth ; but 
when Caesar crossed the boundary, the Roman republic 
fell, after an existence of nearly five hundred years." — 
Butterworth. 

" Caesar's prompt action threw his opponents into dis- 
traction and panic. Though Pompey had boasted that 
with one stamp of his foot, an army would spring from 
the ground, he now fled to Greece without striking a 
blow. In sixty days, Caesar made himself master of all 
Italy without bloodshed. He was made dictator and 
the ambitious dreams of his youth seemed fulfilled." 
— Butterworth. 

Before following his enemy into the East, Caesar 
brought Italy, Gaul, and Spain under his authority. 
He also procured the passage of an important act giving 
the citizenship to the inhabitants of Cisalpine Gaul. 

" Caesar with a small army now crossed the sea to 
meet Pompey. His soldiers were so full of faith in the 
destiny of their leader, and so confident of victory, that 
no ordinary force could withstand them. 

"'Friends,' said Caesar, on the stormy waters, as he 



161 - 

went before his little army, one dark windy night, on a 
slender ship — ' friends, you have nothing to fear. You 
are carrying Caesar ! ' " — Butterworth. 

Conquest of Pompey.— <l The two armies met on the 
plain of Pharsalia. Pompey had the larger army, Caesar 
had better trained legions. Each felt certain of victory. 
The disciplined legions of Caesar were soon masters of the 
field. Pompey fled from the red field to his camp, and 
sunk down in his tent a ruined man. His star had set 
after thirty years. The soldiers of Caesar appeared be- 
fore his tent, and he mounted his horse and fled again. 
He sought refuge in Egypt, in the land of the Ptolemies. 
There he was assassinated by the friends of Caesar, and his 
body was burned on a funeral pyre. His dissevered 
head was the first sight that greeted Caesar when he ar- 
rived at Alexandria in pursuit." — Butterworth. 

It is said that Caesar wept bitter tears, and directed 
that an. honorable burial be given to the remains. 

Other Conquests. — A few months were spent by Caesar 
in ordering affairs in Egypt, where he restored Cleopatra 
to her throne and suppressed a dangerous revolt. He 
then marched into Asia against the son of Mithridates. 
The speedy overthrow of this prince he announced in the 
brief sentence, " Veni, vidi, vici ' ("I came, I saw, I 
conquered "). 

Cato and other republican leaders had assembled a 
great force in Africa, whereupon Caesar hurried his con- 
quering legions forward and a decisive battle was fought 
(B. C. 46) fatal to the republic. 

(See Life of Cato, " Little Arthur's History of 
Rome.") 



162 

Caesar' s Triumph. — On his return to Rome Caesar cel- 
ebrated a four-days' triumph for his victories in Gaul, 
Egypt, and Asia ; patriotism was still too strong in the 
Roman mind to permit him a triumph over fellow-citi- 
zens. 

" In the triumphal procession were led captive princes 
from all parts of the world. Beneath his standards 
marched soldiers gathered out of almost every country 
beneath the heavens. Seventy-five million dollars of 
treasure were displayed. Splendid games and tables at- 
tested the liberality of the conqueror. Sixty thousand 
couches were set for the multitudes. The shows of the 
theater and the combats of the arena followed one an- 
other in an endless round. 

" The senate made Caesar perpetual dictator, and con- 
ferred upon him the powers of censor, consul, and tri- 
bune, with the title of Pontifex Maximus and Impera- 
tor (whence emperor). He was to sit in a golden chair 
in the senate-house, and his statue was placed in the 
capitol opposite to that of Jupiter." — Myers. 

Caesar's Government. — Caesar now showed as great 
ability as a statesman as he had before displayed as a 
soldier. Order and justice were restored, and great re- 
forms projected. To gratify his army, he sent out colo- 
nies to all the different provinces, the most remarkable 
of which were those sent to rebuild Corinth and Car- 
thage. The provinces were governed with greater wis- 
dom, and some of them, including Gaul, were given Ro- 
man citizenship. Most important of all of his achieve- 
ments was the revision of the calendar by the addition 
of the extra day of the leap year. This brought the fes- 



163 . 

tivals once more in their proper seasons. The calendar 
then formed is known as the Julian Calendar, and with 
some slight improvements is in use to-day. (See Barnes). 

Caesar's Assassination. — " But all the genius of Caesar, 
and all the wisdom and clemency which marked his ex- 
ercise of power, could not compensate in the minds of 
his countrymen for the crime of elevating himself on the 
ruins of the republic. ' ' It was rumored that he designed 
to assume the title of king, a name that was odious to 
the Roman people. At a festival Mark Antony offered 
him a crown. The murmurs of the multitude compelled 
him to refuse it, but he seemed to thrust it aside reluc- 
tantly. At length a conspiracy was formed for his de- 
struction. Brutus and Cassius, the leaders, resolved to 
put the plot into execution in the senate-house, on the 
ides of March. "The augurs had foretold that this day 
would be fatal to Caesar." His wife, Calpurnia, dreamed 
on the night previous that she saw him assassinated, and 
endeavored to detain him, but failed. On his way to 
the senate-house a paper was placed in his hands con- 
taining an account of the plot, but he gave it no atten- 
tion. 

As he entered the assembly chamber he recognized the 
soothsayer, and remarked to him, " The ides of March 
have come," to which he received the reply, " Yes, but 
not gone." "As soon as Caesar had taken his place the 
conspirators approached under pretense of Saluting him . ' * 
At a given signal their daggers were drawn and they 
rushed upon him. He defended himself at first with 
great vigor, but seeing his loved and trusted Brutus 



164 

among his assailants, he exclaimed,' " Et tu, Brute!" 
(And thou, too, Brutus !) and, covering his face with his 
toga, sank dead at the foot of Pompey 's statue. — Compiled 
from Goodrich. 

Results. — The conspirators expected to be applauded 
by the people as liberators of their country, but they 
were doomed to disappointment. The senate rushed 
horror-stricken to their homes. The people were silent 
and their faces grew pale as they recalled the proscrip- 
tions of Sulla. Mark Antony, the trusted friend and 
secretary of Caesar, planned a scheme for seizing upon 
the chief authority. He obtained possession of Caesar's 
papers and money and upon the day set for the funeral 
ceremonies he delivered the usual funeral oration. " He 
first read them Caesar's will, in which he made Octavius, 
his sister's grandson, his heir, permitting him to take 
the name of Caesar with three-fourths of -his private for- 
tune. To the people of Rome were left the gardens he 
possessed on the other side of the Tiber, and to every 
citizen three hundred sesterces or about eleven dollars 
and a quarter." — Goodrich. He rehearsed the great 
deeds of Caesar and the honor he had brought to the Ro- 
man name, and finally held up Caesar's rent and bloody 
toga. The people excited by this artful eloquence could 
no longer restrain their indignation against the conspir- 
tors. Brutus and Cassius sought refuge in Greece. The 
next year they were pursued and the issue decided on 
the field of Philippi. " Brutus and Cassius were de- 
feated and, in despair, committed suicide." The Roman 
world was again in the hands of two masters, Antony in 
the East, and Octavius in the West. 



165 * 

Death of Antony and Cleopatra. — After a disgraceful 
career in Egypt Antony ended his life with his own 
hand. Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies was made 
captive ; and, resolved not to be taken to Rome to grace 
the triumph of Octavius, she applied an asp to her arm, 
thus terminating her guilty career. 

"Egypt now became a Roman province and the enor- 
mous wealth of that country was seized by Octavius and 
transported to Rome." 

• "Caesar Octavius was now undisputed master of the 
civilized world." After his return to Italy the senate 
saluted him with the name of Augustus. "This title 
was at first only personal, but afterwards it was assumed 
by the Roman emperors on attaining the dignity of the 
purple. " — Goodrich. 

Establishment of the Empire. — The Senate had con- 
ferred upon Augustus the entire authority of the govern- 
ment, but he flattered the people by a show of republican 
forms. " To the Senate he gave the chief power in the 
administration of his government, while he secured the 
fidelity of the people and the army by donations and acts 
of favor. By these means he caused the odium of sever- 
ity to fall upon the Senate, while the popularity of par- 
don was solely his own." "The various offices of state 
were continued, but he engrossed them all." "He was 
consul, tribune, censor, pontifex maximus (superintend- 
ent of religious matters), and imperator (commander-in- 
chief) . " " Every ten years he went through the farce of 
laying down his rank as chief of the army." "The 
people believed themselves restored to their former free- 



16G 

dom, and the Senate imagined their- ancient power re- 
established.' ' — Goodrich . 

Rome Under Augustus. — "The architectural splendor 
of Rome properly dates from the reign of Augustus, who 
boasted that he ' found it of brick and left it in marble.' 
Among the chief ornamental structures was the capitol. 
This was built on the Capitoline Hill, the highest in the 
city, and was ascended from the forum by a flight of one 
hundred steps. The gates were of brass overlaid with 
gold, and the whole building was so plentifully adorned 
in this manner that it acquired the name of the ' Golden 
Capitol.' The Senate House was the grand legislative 
hall of the nation. It was decorated with the statues of 
eminent warriors and statesmen. The Pantheon, or 
temple of all the gods, built in the reign of Augustus by 
his son-in-law Agrippa, is now a Christian church, and 
is the best preserved ancient building in Rome. It is 
universally admired for its fine dome and portico." The 
noble form of the dome had been developed from the 
arch, the distinctive feature of Roman architecture. 

"In the valley between the Palatine and Capitoline 
Hills was the forum, or place of public assembly, and 
great market. It was surrounded with halls for the ad- 
ministration of justice, temples, and public officers. It 
was also adorned with statues of eminent Romans, and 
various trophies from conquered nations. Among these 
memorials of conquest were several rostra or prows of 
ships, taken from the Carthaginians. These were used 
to ornament the pulpits from which the magistrates and 
public officers harangued the general assemblies of the 



167 . 

people. Thus originated the phrase, 'to mount the 
rostrum.' 

"The porticos or piazzas were very numerous at 
Rome ; these' were covered colonnades, adorned with 
statues, and were designed as places for the citizens to 
meet for business or walk for pleasure. The city was 
adorned with triumphal arches, having statues and 
various sculptured ornaments." Some of these were 
very magnificent, being built of the finest marble. The 
most noted of these monuments were built by Titus and 
Constantine, both of which are still standing. (See 
Myers and Barnes.) 

"Augustus, himself, enumerated twelve temples 
which he had built, besides repairing eighty-two which 
had fallen to decay, and building or restoring aque- 
ducts, theatres, and porticos." "The people were not 
taxed or oppressed any way for these improvements, 
which were made at the expense of Augustus himself 
and the wealthy nobles, who were stimulated by his 
example." "The works of Augustus were directed to- 
wards the general embellishment of the city, rather than 
the erection of any particular edifice ; and the Campus 
Martius, till then an open space, began to be covered 
with elegant buildings ; but there was no royal palace, 
for the emperor resided in a private house and his style 
of living was not different from that of the rich citizen." 
It is said that his toga was woven by his wife and her 
maidens. 

"The city of Rome, during the prosperous days of 
the empire, contained four hundred and twenty temples, 
besides theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, and public 



168 

baths of vast extent. Some of the baths were con- 
structed of marble, and were sufficiently large to accom- 
modate three thousand bathers at once. Aqueducts of 
enormous size conveyed a copious supply of water from 
the neighboring country into Rome, and kept in play 
a prodigious number of fountains, many of which were 
remarkable for their architectural beauty. 

' Thirty-one great roads centered in Rome. Augustus 
erected a gift pillar in the middle of the forum, from 
which the distances on the various roads were reckoned. 
There were thirty gates to the city, and eight bridges 
crossed the Tiber." — Goodrich. 

Roman Civilization was now spreading through the 
empire. Learning was cultivated to such an extent that 
this period of Roman literature is known as the "Golden 
Ageof the Poets" or the "Augustan Age." "Augustus was 
a literary man, and his principal adviser, Maecenas, 
was a lover of poetry and art. It was the ambition of 
the emperor to glorify Rome in history, poetry, and art, 
and he admitted to his friendship men of genius and lit- 
erary tastes, however humble may have been their birth. " 
— Bulterworth. Every man of rank had a library, and 
among the many distinguished writers of this age were 
Horace, Virgil, Ovid, and Livy. (See Barnes and "Little 
Arthur's History of Rome.") The Latin language be- 
came the universal bond of intercourse throughout the 
empire, though the Greek still prevailed in the East. 

" The books were made of sheets of papyrus pasted to- 
gether in a length and rolled on a stick. The writing was 
in columns with a space between. These rolls, called 
volumes, were kept in cases in the libraries. There were 



109 * 

many book-sellers at Rome, and most of them employed 
people to make copies of the books they had on sale, of 
which, a list was usually hung up on the shop door. 

" Wherever the Roman dominion was firmly estab- 
lished, many opulent families went to reside, and as they 
were the superior people, the natives of the higher 
classes adopted their dress, language, and manners. Vil- 
las and ornamental gardens were constructed, roads 
made, and the people taught many useful arts of which 
before they were ignorant. 

' ' They greatly improved the agriculture and horticult- 
ure of Europe, by introducing into the provinces the 
flowers and fruits of the East, and the cultivation of flax 
from Egypt. 

Manufactures. — "It was in the time of Augustus, 
when Egypt became a Roman province, that linen began 
to be used among the Romans, a manufacture for which 
the Egyptians were particularly famous. Glass was also 
manufactured at Alexandria, and sent to Rome, which 
was the greatest market at this period for the richest pro- 
ductions of every country. Many manufactures were 
carried on in various parts of Italy, the slaves doing the 
work. One of them was paper made from the papyrus 
of Europe. Tapestry was made at Padua, and steel goods 
of all kinds at Como." 

Commerce. — "The Roman succeeded in Asia to the 
great commercial marts of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and 
Egyptians, and acquired in Africa the ancient trading- 
stations of the Carthaginians. Yet they made .little or 
no effort to encourage traffic, and opened no new routes 



170 

for trade. The principal trade was in grain and other 
provisions for the use of the capital. 

"The inhabitants of Rome were, generally speaking, 
plentifully supplied with the luxuries, as well as the 
necessaries, from different parts of the empire. Ice and 
excellent cheese were sent from the Alpine districts ; 
pork, geese, and salt, in large quantities, from Gaul ; 
spices, perfumes, and precious stones, from the East, as 
well as many beautiful manufactured articles ; and they 
also received an abundance of gold, and silver, and iron, 
as tribute from various nations. Among the commodi- 
ties obtained by the Romans from distant parts of the 
world was manufactured silk, which they purchased of 
a people who came to their eastern dominions from some 
unknown country beyond ; but whether they were Tar- 
tars, Chinese, or Indians is uncertain. 

"The Romans were totally unacquainted with the na- 
ture of silk. They did not know how or where it was 
produced ; but they were willing to give any price for it 
because it was rare and beautiful. It was so scarce, that 
they made their slaves unweave the thick eastern silks, 
to manufacture slighter ones, so that they might have 
two or three yards for one. 

"At this early period it was worn only by the ladies 
of the highest rank; but in the course of time, the fine 
gentlemen of Rome used silk in their attire either in the 
form of a toga, a scarf, or a loose kind of a robe ; for it 
was about this time that the toga began to be left off.' 5 
Goodrich. 

Roman Customs. — (See Goodrich's Roman History 
and Barnes'. ) 



171 ' 

Judea and the Birth of Christ. — After the rule of Ptol- 
emy, "the Jews found that their new rulers were not 
so kind as Alexander the Great had been, for they were 
ill-treated by them because they would not worship hea- 
then gods. So bad did matters become that at last the 
city of Jerusalem was besieged and captured by the 
Greek king of Syria, the temple overthrown, and thou- 
sands of Jews killed. A brave family called the Macca- 
bees, under the leadership of Judas, revolted against 
this governor. After several years of hard righting, 
they got the mastery of the Greeks and rebuilt the tem- 
ple. Later on, the High Priest, who was ruler of the 
nation, took the title of 'king.' Quarrels arose between 
different parties among themselves, which led to fight- 
ing, and some of them asked help of Rome against their 
brethren. Pompey came with an army to restore peace. 
Many priests were killed before the altar, and the High 
Priest was deprived of the title of 'king/ and lost much 
of his kingdom. 

'"Some years after, the temple was plundered by the 
Roman general, and, at last, an Edomite, by the name 
of Herod, was put on the ancient throne of David. This 
king was called 'The Great/ because of the splendid 
buildings he ordered to be made, one of which was the 
magnificent temple where Jesus walked and talked. It 
was much grander than the one built by Solomon. 
Herod also built bridges and cities, and improved the 
country in many ways ; but although he tried to please 
the people, yet, his being an Edomite, and the quarrels 
and murders in his own household, made him hated and 



172 

feared by his Jewish subjects." — Compiled from Edith 
Ralph's Bible Stories. 

Judea was now a province of Rome, and Csesar Au- 
gustus was the emperor. "Augustus wished to make a 
census to enroll all the people- of the Roman empire, 
that he might better divide the vast domain into prov- 
inces." — Butterworth. 

(See "Little Arthur's History of Rome," pages 141, 
142, 143 ; St. Luke, Bible ; Ben Hur : Wise Men, Holy 
Night.) 

sl Rome rules the European world, and Augustus has 
but to speak and the nations will hear and obey from 
the Mediterranean to the Baltic. In this period of con- 
cord, an event happened which transcends the glory of 
Rome, the thoughts of the philosophers, or the music of 
the poets. There was One who was to preach the broth- 
erhood of man, the rebirth of the soul, -the conscious- 
ness of God and immortal life, and who was to estab- 
lish an invisible kingdom in the spirits of men, that 
should rule all nations and forever endure. The record 
of this event, as recorded in St. Luke, is one of the 
most beautiful and transcendent pages of all history. 

" The Emperor Augustus, it is said, ' found Rome of 
brick, and left it in marble.' He found it almost with- 
out a literature, and left it heroic with poetry, eloquence, 
and song, but it is probable that he never so much as 
heard of this event in the far Syrian province, for he 
died A. D. 14. Yet His birth in a manger was to top- 
ple over all the temples of Rome, and the events of 
Rome in the future will be dated from it. The works of 
Augustus have faded and gone, and the birth of the 



173 . 

Christ Child gives thern the past days of 1898 years. 
— Butterworth. Learn song, " Holy Night." 



THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST. 

ANONYMOUS. 

He came not in his people's day 

Of miracle and might, 
When awe-struck nations owned their sway, 

And conquest crowned each fight; 
When Nature's self with wonder saw 
Her ancient power, her boasted law, 
To feeble man give way*— 
The elements of earth and heaven 
Israel stayed — for Judah riven ! 

Pillar and cloud, Jehovah gave, 

High emblems of his grace ; 
And clove the rock and smote the wave, 

Moved mountains from their place ; 
But justice was with mercy blent — 
In thunder was the promise sent — 

Fierce lightning veiled his face; 
The jealous God, the burning law, 
Were all the chosen people saw. 

Behold them, pilgrim tribes no more — 

The promised land their own ; 
And blessings theirs of sea and shore, 

To other realms unknown : 
From age to age a favored line 
Of mighty kings and seers divine, 

A temple and a throne ; 
Not then, but in their hour of shame, ■ 
Woe, want, and weakness — then he came. 

Not in the earthquake's rending force, 

Not in the blasting fire ; 
Not in the strong wind's rushing course, 

Came He, their soul's desire ! 



174 

Forerunners of His coming these, 
Proclaiming over earth and seas 

As God, His might and ire ; 
The still, small voice, the hovering dove, 
Proved Him Messiah, spoke Him "Love! " 

Of life the way, of light the spring 

Eternal, undenled ; 
Redeemer, Prophet, Priest, and King — 

Yet came he as a child ! 
And Zion's favored eye, grown dim, 
Knew not her promised Lord in Him, 

The lowly and the mild ! 
She saw the manger and the tree, 
And scornful cried, " Can his be He? " 



HEALING THE LEPER. 

N. P. WILLIS. 

It was noon ; 

And Helon knelt beside a stagnant pool 
In the lone Wilderness, and bathed his brow, 
Hot with the burning leprosy, and touched 
The loathsome water to his fevered lips, 
Praying that he might be so blessed— to die ! 
Footsteps approached, and with no strength to flee, 
He drew the covering closer on his lip, 
Crying, "Unclean! unclean! " and in the folds 
Of the coarse sackcloth shrouding up his face, 
He fell upon the earth till they should pass. 

Nearer the stranger came, and bending o'er 

The leper's prostrate form, pronounced his name — 

"Helon!" The voice was like the master-tone 
Of a rich instrument — most strangely sweet ; 
And the dull pulses of disease awoke, 
And for a moment beat beneath the hot 
And leprous scales with a restoring thrill. 

"Helon! arise!" and he forgot his curse, 
And rose and stood before him. 



175 * 

Love and awe 
Mingled in the regard of Helon's eye, 
As he beheld the stranger. He was not 
In costly raiment clad, nor on his brow 
The symbol of a princety lineage wore ; 
No followers at his back, nor in his hand 
Buckler, or sword, or spear; yet in his mien, 
Command sat throned serene, and if he smiled, 
His eye was blue and calm, as is the sky. 
A kingly condescension graced his lips 
The lion would have crouched to in his lair. 

His garb was simple, and his sandals worn ; 
His statue modeled with a perfect grace ; 
His countenance the impress of a god, 
Touched with the opening innocence of a child ; 
His eye was blue and calm, as is the sky 
In the serenest noon; his hair unshorn 
Fell to his shoulders ; and his curling beard 
The fullness of perfected manhood bore. 

He looked on Helon earnestly awhile, 

As if his heart were moved, and stooping down, 

He took a little water in his hand 

And laid it on his brow, and said, "Be clean." 

And lo! the scales fell from him, and his blood 

Coursed with delicious coolness through his veins, 

And his dry palms grew moist, and on his brow 

The dewy softness of an infant stole. 

His leprosy w r as cleansed ; and he fell down 

Prostrate at Jesus' feet, and worshiped Him. 

Extent of the Roman Empire. — The domains over 
which Augustus held sway stretched from the Atlantic 
to the Euphrates, and from the Rhine, Danube, and Eux- 
ine on the north to the unexplored deserts of Africa and 
Arabia on the south. The Roman Empire thus included 
the fairest portions of the known world, surrounding the 
Mediterranean Sea. More than one hundred millions of 



176 

people dwelt in these countries, embracing every variety 
of race, condition, and culture, from the rough barbarian 
of Gaul to the refined and polished Athenian. 

It was by the advice of Augustus that the Romans de- 
voted their energies to the development of the territory 
already acquired and made few attempts to acquire more. 
That the same wise policy was continued by those who 
succeeded him, we may judge from the fact that the em- 
pire was limited by nearly the same frontiers from the 
time of Augustus to that of Constantine. 

In the time of Augustus a standing army exceeding 
one hundred and seventy thousand men guarded the 
frontiers. " Eight legions were stationed on the Rhine, 
four on the Danube, three in Spain, two in Dalmatia, 
eight in Asia and Africa. A body of these troops, known 
as the Praetorian Guard, and comprising nine thousand 
men, were stationed in Italy as a body-guard to the em- 
peror. A thousand more performed the duties of a city 
guard in the capital. " — Goodrich. 

"In the succeeding reign this body of soldiers was 
given a permanent camp alongside the city walls. It 
soon became a formidable power in the state, and made 
and unmade emperors at will." — Myers. 

Revolt of the Germans. — It was the great work of 
Augustus to establish a frontier on the north as secure 
and permanent as those in the other directions. In the 
course of twenty years, the supremacy of Rome was ac- 
knowledged in all that part of Germany between the 
Elbe and the Rhine ; but it was not firmly established. 
" The Germans then consisted of many different nations, 
all of a warlike character, and not more civilized than 



177 . 

the ancient Gauls. They had no towns but lived on 
their lands which were cultivated by serfs. The country 
was covered with dense forests, through which were no 
roads, making it difficult to carry on war there. The 
Romans had never cared to possess so unattractive a 
country, but they found it necessary to establish legions 
on the frontiers and hold the Germans in subjection that 
they might not make inroads into the empire." — Good- 
rich. In the year 9 A. D., the governor of Germany 
was Lucius Varus, a brave man and good officer, but 
wholly incompetent to govern a liberty-loving people 
like the Germans. When he attempted to introduce the 
Roman language and laws, a brave chief whom the Ro- 
mans called Arminius raised a rebellion. " Varus had 
something of the contempt for the irregular warfare of the 
Germans that General Braddock had for that of the 
American Indians." Arminius enticed the Roman 
Army into the wilds of the Teutoberg Forest and there 
took a dreadful revenge for the wrongs his people had 
suffered. The Romans were assaulted by an unseen en- 
emy and completely annihilated. This defeat ended the 
Roman dominion in Germany, though Germanicus, a 
Roman general, invaded these regions, six years later, to 
inflict vengeance for the disaster. (See Myers.) 

Great was the dismay when the direful news reached 
Rome. "The loss of so many of his best soldiers was 
indeed a sad blow to the emperor, as it was no easy mat- 
ter, at this period, to raise new legions, for the people in 
general were unwilling to serve in the armies ; so that it 
had become necessary to emancipate numbers of slaves, 



178 

and make soldiers of them. The reason of this great dis- 
like for army life was that the soldiers were stationed 
along the frontiers in fortified camps and were obliged 
to remain there until they were old men, so that they 
were completely exiled from their country." — Goodrich. 

" The aged emperor was broken down by so terrible a 
reverse at the close of his life, suffered his beard and hair 
to grow — a mark of mourning — and cried again and 
again, ' Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions.' 
He died five years afterwards, asking his friends, in his 
last moments, whether he had not played his part well 
in the comedy of life." — Allen. 

"We now come to the time of the Ten Caesars, whose 
reigns cover a long epoch of splendor, vice, tragedy /and 
decay, and embrace some of the darkest pages of human 
history. ' ' — Butterworth. 

Nero (54 A. D.).— Nero, the last of the emperors at 
all connected with Augustus, is known as the most 
wicked of kings. For five years he ruled with justice 
and clemency, then, putting aside his wise counselors, 
he entered upon a career filled with crimes which have 
made his name infamous through all the ages. Among 
his victims were his mother, his wife, and his step- 
brother. 

In the tenth year of his reign a conflagration destroyed 
the greater part of Rome. Nero was suspected of having 
kindled it in order to enjoy the spectacle. He is report- 
ed to have enjoyed a view from a lofty tower, while he 
chanted the " Sack of Troy" to the music of his lyre. 
To secure himself, he ascribed the conflagration to the 
Christians, who, at this time, were a small sect, mostly 



179 . 

of the lower classes. The persecution that followed was 
one of the most cruel recorded in the history of the 
church. St. Paul and St. Peter, according to tradition, 
were martyred at this time. 

When Rome was destroyed by the Gauls, more than 
four hundred years before, it was hurriedly built up 
without system or order (see Invasion of Gauls); now 
broad avenues were substituted for winding lanes, and 
handsome stone buildings took the place of unsightly 
piles of brick or wood. 

"Rome arose from her ashes as quickly as Athens 
after the Persian wars, and the conflagration seemed to 
have been a blessing in disguise."- — Compiled from My- 
ers and Allen. (Nero's "Golden House"; see Good- 
rich and Allen. ) 

Flavins Vespasian (A. D. 69-79). — The reign of Ves- 
pasian was rendered famous by important military 
achievements abroad and stupendous architectural works 
at Rome. After one of the most distressing sieges re- 
corded in history, Jerusalem was taken by Titus, son of 
Vespasian. In the island of Britain the Roman com- 
mander, Agricola, subdued or crowded back the native 
tribes until he had extended the frontiers of the empire 
into Scotland. 

Capture of Jerusalem (A. D. 70). — The independent 
spirit of the Jews could no longer submit to the tyranny 
of the Roman officials. They rose in rebellion and Ves- 
pasian, during his three years' command in Judea, re- 
duced the whole country into his power, except the cap- 
ital. When he became emperor his son, Titus, attacked 
Jerusalem "and reduced it after a siege of over five 



180 

months, attended by the unutterable horrors of blood- 
shed, famine, and conflagration. The fanatic party 
among the Jews confronted the invader with relentless 
obstinacy. At first they intrenched themselves within 
the temple, and when this was captured and burned, 
they withdrew to the heights of Mount Zion, where they 
continued the defense of the holy city. When this, too, 
fell, and its buildings were destroyed by fire, Jerusalem 
had ceased to exist. In the course of time the survivors 
returned to their old home and built for themselves 
humble dwellings among its ruins." — Allen. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

LORD BYRON. 

From the last hill that looks on thy once holy dome, 
I beheld thee, O Zion, when rendered to Rome; 
' Twas the last snn went down, and the flames of thy fall 
Flashed back on the last glance I gave to thy wall. 

I looked for thy temple, I looked for my home, 

And forgot for a moment my bondage to come ; 

I beheld but the death-fire that fed on thy fane, 

And the fast-fettered hands that made vengeance in vain. 

On many an eve, the high spot whence I gazed 
Had reflected the last beam of day as it blazed ; 
While I stood on the height and beheld the decline 
Of the rays from the mountain that shone on thy shrine. 

And now on that mountain I stood on that day, 
But I marked not the twilight beam melting away ; 
Ob ! would that the lightning had glared in its stead, 
And the thunderbolt burst on the conqueror's head! 

But the gods of the Pagan shall never profane 
The shrine where Jehovah disdained not to reign ; 
And scattered and scorned as Thy people may be, 
Our worship, Father! is only for Thee. 



181 * 

" On his return to Rome, Titus celebrated a triumph 
for his hard-won victory ; and a few years later a tri- 
umphal arch was built upon the highest spot in the Sa. 
creel Way, on the walls of which was carved — still to be 
seen — a representation of that sacred candlestick of the 
Jewish temple which had been carried among the troph- 
ies of his triumph. 

" The greatest architectural work of this reign was the 
Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum, 
to this day the most magnificent of the remains of 
ancient Rome." — Allen. 

(See page 205, " Little Arthur's History of Rome.") 

Reign of Titus. — "In his short reign of two years 
Titus won the title, the "Delight of Mankind." He 
had his father's military gifts, with a milder and more 
kindly disposition." Having let a day pass by without 
some act of kindness performed he is said to have ex- 
claimed reproachfully, " I have lost a day." 

The only event of importance in the reign of Titus 
was the greatest eruption of Vesuvius that has ever been 
known, causing the destruction of the cities of Hercu- 
laneum and Pompeii. " The cities were buried beneath 
showers of cinders, ashes, and streams of volcanic sand. 
Pliny the Elder, the great naturalist, venturing too near 
the mountain to investigate the phenomenon, lost his 
life." — Myers. "His nephew, Pliny the Younger, has 
given a most interesting account of this event in one of 
his letters." (See Goodrich's "History of Rome"; 
" Lit-tle Arthur's History" Supplementary Readers; 
" Last Days of Pompeii," by Bulwer.) 

The Five Good Emperors. — After the death of the 



182 

last of the Caesars, the senate claimed the right of elect- 
ing the rulers. Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus 
Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, by their wise administra- 
tions, brought the government to a humane and equita- 
ble standing. The morals of" the people steadily 
improved and there was less vice at this period than 
one hundred or two hundred years before. 

"Marcus Aurelius, the last of the five good emperors, 
was the noblest of all the characters of later Roman 
history. When a mere child he preferred study to the 
splendors of the court. At the age of twelve he took 
the philosophic mantle as an indication of his chosen 
pursuits. He accepted the principles of the Stoics, 
adopted their habits,. and found his delight in denying 
himself for the sake of the good of his soul. (See page 
115 and 116, " Little Arthur's History of Rome.") 
Though heir to the grandest throne in the world, 
he overcame pride, and maintained simple habits, 
and in an age of fiery passions he acquired a serene 
disposition and became an example of beauty as well as 
simplicity of character. His judgment became so clear 
that Antoninus Pius, his father-in-law, associated him 
in the government many years before he died." — Butter- 
worth. 

" It was a hard fate which associated this upright and 
conscientious prince with the most disturbed and calam- 
itous events of the century, and made his reign a critical 
moment in the downfall of the empire." — Allen. After 
the long period of quiet and prosperity .under Hadrian 
and Antoninus Pius the empire was suddenly invaded by 
swarms of Northern barbarians. "Aurelius was a man 



183 • 

of peace, but he was obliged to carry on defensive wars, 
and led his army in person, enduring the lot of a com- 
mon soldier. 

"He was so much of a Stoic as to be blind to Chris- 
tianity, and opposed to it, although he has surpassed 
most Christian kings in living the principles of the 
Christian faith. He seems to have thought Christianity 
to be an immoral superstition, as it was then called, and 
if it be good that his philosophy yet transcended it. In 
one of his campaigns against the German tribes on the 
Danube, he was shut up in a barren defile where there 
was no water, and his army seemed about to perish with 
thirst, when a Christian legion in his army knelt down 
and prayed. A cloud arose followed by a deluge of rain. 
The Christians attributed the rain to their faith, but Au- 
relius to Jupiter. The scene is represented in art in a 
very dramatic way, the soldiers catching the water as it 
fell on their shields. The Christian soldiers who thus 
called on God became known as the Thundering Legion. 

" The reign of Aurelius was troubled by plague, earth- 
quake and famine, but amid it all, like a Roman Job, 
he held that all things that happened were for the good 
of all, and that the Divine wisdom was to be praised in 
the darkest events of life. His strength of character 
grew with years, and he sacrificed self for the good of 
others until Rome looked upon him as a divinity." He 
died at Vienna in the prime of life while still engaged in 
protecting his country from invasion. 

"At his death the empire went into sincere mourning. 
The senate voted him a god, Rome set up his images for 



184 

veneration and the world lias never ceased to hold his 
character in high esteem. 

" But it is by his published works, written in Greek, 
that he now lives in influence. Except in the teachings 
of the gospel, perhaps no man ever saw truth in a clearer 
light, or wrote more sublime precepts for the guidance of 
mankind. Extracts from the ' Meditations/ of Marcus 
Aurelius : 

"I. ■ The whole world is one commonwealth.' 

"II. ' That which is not for the interest of the whole 
is not for the interest of one.' 

' ' III . ' Cease your complaint and you are not injured . ' 

" IV. ' No man can injure thee unless he makes thy 
character worse.' 

" V. 'A thing is neither better or worse for being 
praised. No virtues stand in need of any good word, or 
are worse for a bad one. An emerald will shine, though 
the world be silent.' 

"VI. ' Be always doing something serviceable to man- 
kind . ' ' ' — Butterworth. 

(See " Little Arthur's History.") 

New Causes of the Decline of the Empire.— We have 
already noted in the Decay of the Republic the principal 
sources of decline ; such as the degradation of free in- 
dustry by slave labor. In the reign of Aurelius new 
causes of decline seemed to be added. A destructive 
inundation of the Tiber was followed by distress and fam- 
ine. A few years after this the eastern army brought the 
plague with it from Asia and the infection was communi- 
cated to every province through which the legions 






185 - 

passed. The violence of the pestilence did not abate for 
several years. 

To the panic of the plague was added the terror of the 
barbarian invasion. With diminishing population and 
diminishing resources, the devoted Aurelius checked the 
inroads of the barbarians but he could not subdue them. 
— Adapted from Allen. 

Persecution of the Christians. — The people thought 
that these repeated calamities — war, inundation, famine, 
pestilence, barbarian inroads — must have been sent by 
the gods as a punishment for some national guilt. As 
the Christians deserted the temples and refused to wor- 
ship the gods under whose protection the state had pros- 
pered, they were accused of angering the gods. Accus- 
tomed as they were to holding their meetings at night, 
and often in secret, they were looked upon as enemies of 
the state and persecuted even by the best rulers, Trajan, 
Marcus Aurelius, and Diocletian. — /adapted from Allen 
and Myers. 

The rising faith, however, was only strengthened by 
opposition. The heroism of the martyrs extorted the 
admiration of their enemies and won multitudes to the 
persecuted faith. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, exclaimed, 
when brought before the tribunal and urged to curse 
Christ, ' Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He 
has done me nothing but good ; how could I curse Him, 
my Lord and Savior!" As the flames rose around hdm 
he thanked God that he was deemed worthy of such a 
death. In the times of dread and distress which accom- 
panied the downfall of the empire, the Gospel alone 



186 

brought the consolation that satisfied men's souls. The 
triumph of Christianity was near at hand. 

Decline of the Empire (180 to 284 A. D.).— Assailed 
by vice, corruption, and disease within and fierce bar- 
barians without, the empire no longer recovered from 
the attacks. The army became the governing power 
and the emperor its servant. The Praetorian guard put 
up the imperial power at auction and sold it to the 
highest bidder. The people had become so debased 
that they were willing to close their eyes to the vices of 
the emperors, and even to participate therein. They 
w T ere content if they were fed daily from the public 
granaries and amused by the cruel sports of the arena. 
"The emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by the Per- 
sian king, who carried him about in chains and used 
him as a footstool in mounting his horse." After nearly 
a century of disorder and misrule, the. barbarians had 
passed the frontiers and were occupying the provinces. 
The empire seemed on the point of falling when it was 
restored for a time by five energetic rulers, who suc- 
ceeded each other. — Adapted. 

Reforms of Diocletian (A. D. 284). — A new method 
of government was introduced by Diocletian. He ob- 
served that the empire was too large and too varied in 
nationality to be successfully governed by one emperor. 
The empire was therefore divided so it could be ruled 
from two centers : Milan became the western capital 
and Nicomedia the eastern. Each emperor received the 
title of Augustus and associated with himself a general 
or Caesar, who succeed him to the throne. The govern- 
ment now became absolute, all authority and law ema- 



187 • 

natiug from the emperor. An oriental monarchy had 
taken the place of the Empire of the Caesars. By the 
wise administration of Diocle'tian new vigor was awak- 
ened in all parts of the empire. "War waged at once 
in Persia, Egypt, Britain, and Germany, but the Roman 
eagles conquered every foe." 

"After the joint reign of Diocle'tian and Maxim'ian 
had for about nineteen years restored the glory of Rome, 
they of their own accord gave up the purple, leaving 
the imperial power to the two Caesars. Diocle'tian con- 
tentedly passed the evening of his life in rural occupa- 
tions. To Maximian, who tried to induce him to re- 
assume the scepter, the old monarch wrote, ' Could you 
but see the cabbages I raise, you would no longer talk 
to me of empire ! ' " — Quackenbos. 

The Catacombs. — The growth of the city of Rome led 
to the formation of immense quarries under the streets, 
suburbs, and immediate neighborhood. The stone 
taken from these quarries was used for building pur- 
poses and the caverns grew with the demand for ma- 
terial. These caverns or subterranean rooms and 
galleries were called catacombs. They became the hid- 
ing-place of persecuted people, outlaws, and criminals." 
— Butterworth. In the second and third centuries the 
Christians sought refuge in the catacombs. "Here 
they buried their dead, and on the walls of the cham- 
bers sketched rude symbols of their confident faith. 
It was in the darkness of these subterranean abodes that 
Christian art had its beginnings. " — Myers. The last and 
severest of the persecutions of the church took place in 
the reign of Diocletian. 



188 

Constaiitine the Great. — The succession planned by 
Diocletian was disregarded after his successor died. Con- 
staiitine, the Caesar in Britain, was made sole emperor 
by his troops. But it was not until after eighteen years 
had passed that he succeeded in- overthrowing his many 
rivals and became the supreme ruler (324 A. D.). 

During the campaign against one of these he is said 
to have been miraculously converted to Christianity. 
According to the legend the scene of the event was near 
Rome, which city Constaiitine was approaching to en- 
gage in battle with the rival emperor, Maxentius. It 
was the afternoon of the 27th of October. Constantine 
was invoking the gods for the success of his cause. Sud- 
denly there appeared a pillar of light in the sky in the 
form of a cross, and beneath it the inscription: li In 
hoc signo vinees," "In this sign thou shalt conquer." 

The standard adopted was made thus :- 

"A long spear plated with gold, with a transverse 
piece at the top in the form of a cross, to which was 
fastened a four-square purple banner embroidered with 
gold and beset with precious stones. Above the cross 
was a crown overlaid with gold and gems, within whicli 
was placed the sacred symbol, the first two letters of the 
name of Christ in Greek. 

" Under this^ banner Constantine, having overcome 
Maxentius, entered Rome in triumph, and was hailed by 
the Christian population with great rejoicing. 

*' Thus the waning autumn of 312 witnessed the begin- 
ning of the end of the heathen rites of more than a thou- 
sand years, and the advent of the faith that has come to 
possess the civilized world. We may credit or not the 



189 * 

vision of the cross, the event of the downfall of ancient 
gods and the acceptance of the gospel of Christ is certain. 
The ancient Rome vanished, a new Rome came. 

"The master of the Roman World, having become a 
Christian, aspired to found a city which should be ded- 
icated to the enlightened faith from the beginning." 
Rome was hallowed by the divine presence and sacred 
associations of the heathen deities. Many of the inhab- 
itants, still devoted to the ancient faith, strongly opposed 
this abandonment of the old national deities. (See 
speech of Camillus, by Livy. ) Rome had for a long 
time been too far remote from the center of population, 
wealth, and culture to be the capital of this wide extended 
empire. After long and careful deliberation, Byzantium 
was chosen by Constantine as the site for a new Rome 
that should be a worthy rival of the old. His wisdom 
in the selection of this commanding situation has been 
universally recognized. Byzantium occupied the trian- 
gular space between the Golden Horn, an inlet of the 
Bosporus, and the Propontis. The walls of the new city 
were laid out at a distance of two miles outside of those 
of the old. The presence of the court and the commer- 
cial advantages of the situation contributed to the build- 
ing up of the city when the empire did not flourish. 
Enormous sums were spent in embellishing the new 
metropolis with a capitol, amphitheater, splendid pal- 
aces, and churches, the chief of which was the St. Sophia. 
This new capital, called Constantinople, from its founder, 
was to defy the barbarians and endure a thousand years 
after Rome had fallen. 

"After Constantine had fixed his residence in the new 



190 

capital, he adopted oriental manners-. He affected the 
gorgeous attire of the Persian monarchs, and wore a dia- 
dem covered with pearls and gems. He substituted flow- 
ing robes of silk embroidered with flowers, for the au- 
stere garb of Rome, or the unadorned purple of the first 
emperors. He filled his palaces with spies and parasites, 
and lavished the wealth of the empire upon stately archi- 
tecture." — Goodrich and Butterworth. 

The First General Council of the Church. — " By a de- 
cree issued from Milan, A. D. 313, Christianity was 
made the state religion, and in A. D. 325 a General 
Council of the church was held at Nicsea, in Asia Minor. 
The doctrine of Arius, who denied the divinity of Christ, 
was denounced, and. a formula of Christian faith adopt- 
ed, which is known as the Nicene Creed." — Myers. 



ROMAN CONQUEST OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

Physical Features. — (See geography.) 

Earliest Glimpses of British History. — Several hun- 
dred years before the Christian era it is supposed that 
the Phoenicians visited England. Their chief object was 
to obtain tin, which was procured from the mines of 
Cornwall. Hence the Casterides, or Tin Isles, was the 
ancient designation of the British Isles. 

Britons. — "The original inhabitants of England, Ire- 
land, and Scotland seem to have been of the same Celtic 
stock which first peopled France and Spain, though they 
were divided into numerous tribes." These people were 
called Britons, and their country was known as Britain. 
" A few among the more southern tribes practiced agri- 



191 • 

culture in a rude way, and wore artificial cloths for 
dress. They had also war-chariots in great numbers." — 
Goodrich. " These chariots were not quite breast high 
in front and open at the back, contained one man to 
drive and two or three others to fight, all standing up. 
The horses which drew them were so well trained, that 
they would tear at full gallop, over the most stony 
ways, and even through the woods, dashing down their 
master's enemies beneath their hoofs, and cutting them 
to pieces with the blades of swords , or scythes, which 
were fastened to the wheels and stretched out beyond the 
car on each side, for that cruel purpose. In a moment 
while at full speed, the horses would stop at the driv- 
er's command. The men within would leap out, deal 
blows about them with their swords like hail, leap on the 
horses or spring back into the chariots, and, as soon as 
they were safe, the horses tore away again." — Dickens. 

"The women, like those of the American Indian, 
were practiced in basket-making, the material being the 
twigs of willows. They also sewed together the skins of 
animals for dress, their thread being made of leather or 
vegetable fibers, and their needles of pieces of bone." — 
Goodrich. 

Condition of Country. — " The whole country was cov- 
ered with forests and swamps. The greater part of it 
was very misty and cold. There were no roads, no 
bridges, no streets, no houses, that you would think de- 
serving of the name. A town was nothing but a collec- 
tion of straw-covered huts hidden in a thick wood, with 
a ditch all around and a low wall, made of mud, or the 
trunks of trees placed one upon another." — Dickens. 



192 

'•' Such was the condition of the country and people 
when Julius 'Caesar, having completed the subjugation of 
Gaul, began to think of adding the island of Britain to 
his conquests. The white chalk cliffs of Dover, from 
which Britain had also the name of Albion, could be 
seen from the coast of Gaul, and as Caesar's ambition 
knew no bounds, he doubtless thought that this strange 
country invited him to its conquest. 

Caesar's Invasion. — -"Having decided to undertake an 
expedition against it, he assembled the merchants 
who had traded with the Britons for hides and tin, 
and made inquiries respecting the manners, customs, 
and power of the people of Britain. We may sup- 
pose that Caesar had little dread of meeting such a sav- 
age people as the Britons with his well-disciplined 
troops. He probably learned, too, that the people were 
divided into many small tribes, governed by indepen- 
dent rulers, who did not agree very well among them- 
selves. 

"He embarked his troops at Calais, and in a few 
hours reached the coast of Britain near Dover. The 
Britons had heard of his coming, and were assembled to 
prevent his landing. Their painted bodies gave them a 
most terrific appearance, and their savage yells made 
even the Romans hesitate to attack them. 

"At last a standard-bearer jumped into the sea, and 
advanced with the eagle, which was the Roman standard, 
towards the enemy, crying aloud, ' Follow me, soldiers, 
unless you will betray the Roman eagle into the hands of 
the enemy. I, at least, will discharge my duty to Caesar 
and to my country.' Animated by this speech, and ex- 



193 

cited by his example, the soldiers plunged into the sea, 
and waded to the land, in spite of all the Britons could 
do. Caesar remained about three weeks on the island, 
during which he gained many battles. He then granted 
a peace to the Britons, upon condition that they should 
pay tribute to the Romans. 

Second Invasion (54 B. C. ). — " The Britons neglected 
to perform their engagements, and in the year 54 B. C. 
Caesar again invaded the island. Landing, as before, at 
Deal, he advanced into the country. The Britons had 
now united their forces under one chief named Cassive- 
launus. Still they were defeated in every battle. Hav- 
ing brought the people to submission, and compelled 
them to give him many of their chief men as hostages, 
Caesar returned to Rome. As no troops were left in 
Britain to maintain the authority of Rome, the Britons 
soon threw off all marks of subjection, and the tribute 
remained unpaid. The civil dissensions among the Ro- 
mans themselves long prevented their taking any meas- 
ures to compel the payment. 

Civilization. — "An intercourse was, however, kept up 
with Rome. Many of the chief persons of Britain visited 
that city, and some of the young men were educated 
there. By this means the Britons began to improve in 
their manners and habits. The mantle of skins was re- 
placed by one of cloth, and close trousers were intro- 
duced. They likewise adopted a vest, a tunic, fitting 
tight to the body and reaching just below the waist. 
Their shoes were still made of the skins of some animal 
with their hair outwards. 

They soon began to coin money. When metals were 



a r \ 



194 

first introduced as money, their value was determined 
by weight. The seller having agreed to accept a certain 
quantity of gold or silver for his goods, the buyer cut 
off that quantity from the piece of that metal in his 
possession, and, having weighed it, delivered it to the 
seller, and received the goods. 

"The invasion of the Romans had made the Britons 
acquainted with the use of tools ; and stout galleys took 
the place of frail boats made of osiers and the flexible 
branches of trees, covered with skins of oxen, in which 
they had hitherto navigated the stormy seas around 
their islands. 

Third Invasion. — "At length, in the year 43 A. D., 
being 97 years from the first invasion by Caesar, the 
Romans determined to make another attempt to conquer 
Britain. An army of 50,000 men was collected and sent 
into the island, under the command of Aulus Plautius. 
The Britons fought bravely for their liberty, but could 
not withstand the Roman discipline. Their principal 
chief, named Caractacus, and his family, were taken 
prisoners. They were all sent to Rome, and the king 
and his wife and two daughters were made to walk 
through the streets loaded with chains. Observing the 
splendor of the great city he could not forbear exclaim- 
ing, 'Alas ! how is it possible that people possessed of 
such magnificence at home should envy me my humble 
cottage in Britain.' " 

"Notwithstanding their victories, the Romans made 
little progress in the conquest of the island. Suetonius 
Paulinus, one of their most skillful generals, resolved 
to adopt a new method. He observed that the Druids 



195* 

were the most inveterate enemies of the Romans, and 
that it was their influence which kept up the spirit of 
the people. 

Druids. — "The Druids were the priests and law-givers 
of the Britons. The chiefs commanded the forces in 
time of war, but all other power was in the hands of the 
Druids. The laws of the Britons were composed in 
verse, and the only record of them was in the memory 
of the Druids. The old taught them to the young, and 
thus the knowledge of them was kept up from one gen- 
eration to another. 

".So great was the veneration in which they were held 
that, when two hostile armies, witrr daggers drawn and 
spears extended, were about to engage in battle, the 
request of the Druids was sufficient to calm their rage, 
and to induce them to shield their daggers, and sepa- 
rate in peace. 

"The Druids believed that it was displeasing to the 
Deity to worship within walls, or under roofs. They 
worshiped, therefore, in the open air in groves of particu- 
lar trees. The favorite was the strong and spreading 
oak, and in all their ceremonies they were crowned with 
garlands of its leaves. In the center of the grove was 
the rude altar of stones upon which sacrifices were of- 
ferred. The victims were not sheep and oxen alone, but 
the prisoners taken in war were considered as a most ac- 
ceptable offering. 

" The principal residence of the Druids was in the lit- 
tle island of Anglesea. Suetonius resolved to make him- 
self master of this stronghold. The Britons endeavored 
to prevent the landing of their troops. The women and 



196 

priests mingled with the soldiers on the shore, and run- 
ning about with burning torches in their hands and 
tossing their long hair, they terrified the astonished Ro- 
mans more by their shrieks and howlings, than by the 
appearance of the armed forces. But the' Romans soon 
recovered their spirits, and, marching boldly forward, 
speedily put an end to all resistance. Meanwhile the 
Britons took advantage of the absence of Suetonius. 
Headed by Boadicea, a brave queen, they attacked and 
destroyed the Roman settlements. There were many of 
these which were quite flourishing. London, which at 
the first invasion was a forest, had now become a rich 
and populous city. 

Boadicea Defeated.—" Suetonius was obliged to aban- 
don this place to the fury of the Britons. It was entire- 
ly destroyed, and more than 70,000 Romans and other 
strangers were put to death. But he soon had a most 
cruel revenge ; with his little army of 10,000 men, he 
attacked the Britons and left 80,000 of them dead upon 
the field of battle. Boadicea, in despair at this defeat, 
poisoned herself. (See poem.) 

Agricola in Britain. — " The Romans now easily estab- 
lished themselves all over Britain, and built towns and 
castles, and were entire masters of the country. Julius 
Agricola, one of their generals, was a very good, as well 
as a brave man. He endeavored to reconcile the Brit- 
ons to the Roman government by introducing their arts, 
and sciences. He encouraged them to engage in agri- 
culture, which the Romans considered the most honora- 
ble employment. He also persuaded them to learn the 
Latin language. He succeeded so well in his endeavors 



197 - 

that the Britons soon began to esteem it a privilege to be 
a part of the Roman empire. Indeed, they derived oth- 
er advantages besides the increase of comfort which a 
knowledge of the Roman arts had brought them. The 
northern part of the island, called Caledonia, and now 
Scotland, was inhabited by the Scots and Picts, a wild 
and warlike people, who made incursions into the coun- 
try of Britain, and, after destroying everything that 
came in their way, retired into their bleak and barren 
mountains. 

Whenever they ventured to stand a battle in the open 
field they were defeated by the Romans ; but they seldom, 
did this. They generally retired as the Roman troops 
advanced. As soon as the latter were withdrawn from 
their neighborhood they again commenced their depre- 
dations. Agricola caused a line of forts to be built 
across Scotland, thus shutting out the marauders. The 
country now remained at peace for many years, during 
which the Romans occupied themselves in making 
roads, many of which are still remaining, and in build- 
ing strong and massive castles, the ruins of which are 
still to be seen. 

Wall between Scotland and England. — " But the forts 
did not prove a sufficient defense against the Picts and 
Scots, who renewed their incursions upon the more cul- 
tivated parts of the island. The Emperor Hadrian, who 
visited Britain, caused a rampart of earth to be erected. 
This, however, proved too weak, and in the year 207 
A. D. the Emperor Severus came to Britain with a de- 
termination to conquer Caledonia. The nature of the 
country and the bravery of the people prevented his sue- 



198 

ceeding; so he contented himself with building an im- 
mense stone wall, twelve feet high and eight feet thick, 
quite across the country, from the river Tyne to Solway 
Firth, many parts of which are still to be seen. 

Introduction of Christianity.—' ' For a long time ev- 
erything went on so quietly that little mention is made 
of the affairs of this island by any historian. The peo- 
ple were governed by Roman officers, and Christianity 
was introduced, making considerable progress, it is be- 
lieved, before the end of the first century. About the 
year 448, the Romans were compelled to withdraw their 
troops from the distant provinces, and, among the rest, 
from Britain, to defend their city against the barbarous 
tribes of the north of Europe. \ 

The Romans Abandon Britain. — ' ' Before the Romans 
left the island, they repaired the wall built by Sev- 
erus. But as walls are of very little use without 
brave and well-armed men to defend them, the Roman | 
general instructed the Britons in the art of making and ' 
of using the several kinds of weapons. He then departed 
with his troops, telling the people that, as they would 
never again have assistance from the Romans, they had 
better learn to take care of themselves. Thus the Rom- 
ans departed from the island, after having had posses- 
sion of it nearly five hundred years, if we reckon from 
the first invasion of Julius Csesar." — Goodrich. 



BOADICEA. 

COWPER. 

When the British warrior queen, 
Bleeding from the Roman rods, 

Sought, with an indignant mien, 
Counsel of her country's gods, 



199 

Sage beneath the spreading oaR., 
Sat the Druid, hoary chief; 

Every burning word he spoke 
Full of rage and full of grief. 

" Princess ! if our aged eyes 

Weep upon thy matchless wrongs, 
'Tis because resentment ties 
All the terrors of our tongues. 

" Rome shall perish — write that word 
In the blood that she has spilt ; 
Perish, hopeless and abhorr'd, 
Deep in ruin as in guilt. 

" Rome, for empire far renown'd, 
Tramples on a thousand states ; 
Soon her pride shall kiss the ground — 
Hark ! the Gaul is at her gates ! 

" Other Romans shall arise, 

Heedless of a soldier's name, 
Sounds, not arms, shalt win the prize, 
Harmony the path to fame. 

" Then the progeny that springs 
From the forests of our land, 
Arm'd with thunder, clad with wings, - 
Shall a wider world command. 

" Regions Caesar never knew 
Thy posterity shall sway ; 
"Where his eagles never flew, 
None invincible as they." 

Such the bard's prophetic words, 
Pregnant with celestial fire, . 

Bending as he swept the chords 
Of his sweet but awful lyre. 

She, with all a monarch's pride, 
Felt them in her bosom glow ; 

Rush'd to battle, fought, and died ; 
Dying hurl'd them at the foe. 



200 

Ruffians, pitiless as proud, 

Heaven awards the vengeance due 
Empire is on us bestow'd, 

Shame and ruin wait for j^ou." 



FALL OF ROME. 

Barbarian Invasions (Character of Germans) (See 
Emerton's History). — "In the latter part of the fourth 
century a host of savage Huns burst into Europe. The 
Huns were a people, surely not of German stock, nor 
even of the Aryan race. They came from the north of 
Asia, beyond the great wall of China, passed through 
the 'gateway of nations,' between the Caspian Sea and 
the Ural Mountains, and fell upon the distant settlements 
of the East-Goths in the valley of the Don. (Story of 
Goths. See page 25, Emerton's "Introduction to Study 
of Middle Agejs.") . 

"The Huns were frightful little men, living almost 
wholly on horseback, sweeping over the country like a 
whirlwind and leaving only destruction behind them. 
They had the olive skins of the Orientals, their hair was 
worn long and tied into a knot behind. Their noses 
were so much turned up that the frightened Romans fan- 
cied that they had nothing but two holes in the middle 
of their faces. They seemed hardly to deserve the name 
of human beings ; nothing could resist them. The East- 
Goths surrendered and were forced to join the Huns in 
in their attack upon the West-Goths. 

Visigoths. — " These latter, in their despair, begged the 
Roman Emperor Valens to give them shelter, and were 
allowed to come over and settle in Mcesia, south of the 



201 

Danube. It was understood that the Romans should 
furnish them with weapons and supplies, for which they 
should pay by defending the river against any new at- 
tack. The West-Goths seem, to have kept their part of 
the agreement, but the Roman officers were careless in 
their treatment of the barbarians. One trouble led to 
another, until finally the Germans broke out into open 
revolt. The Emperor Valens, without waiting for any 
help from the West, gave battle near Adrianoj^le, in 
Thrace, and was utterly defeated. He himself was 
killed in the retreat, and the Visigoths found themselves 
suddenly within the empire, with no army to oppose 
them, and, as it seemed, the promise of endless plunder. 
' ' The battle of Adrianople was one of the decisive bat- 
tles of the world. It taught the Germans that they could 
beat the legions in open fight, and that henceforth it was 
for them to name the price of peace. It broke once for 
all the Rhine-Danube frontier. Swarms of fighting men, 
Ostrogoths as well as Visigoths, came pouring into the 
empire. At the death of Valens, who had been ruler of 
the East, his nephew Gratian was left as ruler of the 
West. He had sense enough to see that he could not 
hope to govern the whole of the great Roman empire, 
and called upon Theodosius, a Spaniard, and a man of 
well-proven ability, to take the government of the East. 
He saw that it was hopeless to think of driving out the 
Germans, and that the best way to manage them was to 
keep them quarreling with each other. He made treat- 
ies by which the Visigoths were given lands in Thrace, 
and the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, between the Mur and 
the Danube. They were to receive regular pay in money 



202 

and were to defend the frontier. Their vanity was tick- 
led with the fine-sounding name of 'allies/ and their 
leaders were placed in the highest positions in the state. 
The confidential minister of Theodosius was a German, 
a Vandal named Stilicho, son of a chieftain who had 
served with his ■■ chestnut-haired squadrons/ in the arm- 
ies of Valens. But the Gothic warriors were not long to 
be bound with paper chains. There were always 
some among them who despised the service of Rome, 
and longed to be masters instead of servants. This rest- 
less ambition for conquest brought forward the greatest 
leader of the Visigothic name, the famous Alaric. With 
him for their leader the nation took up its inarch once 
more, with the fixed purpose of finding lands in the very 
heart of the empire, where they might settle once for all. 
Their taste of Roman ways seems only to have made 
them want more, and they were already losing some- 
thing of the wildness they had brought from their North- 
ern home. The great Theodosius died just as Alaric 
was chosen leader of the Visigoths. His empire was di- 
vided between his sons, Arcadius, in the East, and Hon- 
orius, in the West, and was never to be united again. 
The sons were a wretched pair. With ruin staring him 
in the face, Honorius shut himself up in Ravenna amidst 
the marshes of the Po, and left the defense of the empire 
to Stilicho. 

"Alaric at first fixed his attention upon Greece, and 
moved his army southward into the center of the Pelo- 
ponnesus. Arcadius, the Eastern emperor, had no force 
strong enough to resist the assault, and Greece was only 
saved by a brilliant exploit of Stilicho, who crossed the 



203 - 

Adriatic Sea and shut Alaric up within the province of 
Arcadia. He dared not risk a battle, however, and was 
glad to purchase the retreat of Alaric by a renewed com- 
mission as defender of Illyria. Nothing could have been 
better for Alaric. He gave up Greece only to be quartered 
in a rich and defenseless province close upon the borders 
of Italy. Every step of the Visigothic conquerors shows 
them to be emerging more and more from the condition 
of mere fighters, and becoming, in a truer sense of the 
word, a nation. 

" Their new quarters sufficed for them only about 
three years. Again the nation in arms moved forward 
into the rich valley of the Po. The empire was now 
fully alarmed. From all the most distant frontiers the 
legions were summoned in hot haste to Rome, and formed 
by Stilicho into a great army, with which he waited for 
Alaric near Pollentia, on the river Tanarus. A terrific 
battle was fought here, in which Alaric. was, if not badly 
beaten, at least turned back in his career. He was driven 
out of Italy, and sought shelter in Pannonia. The 
government actually believed that the barbarians were 
disposed of forever. It had no conception of the masses 
of men waiting their opportunity to pour through the 
breach of the defenseless frontier. Honorius kept on 
amusing himself at Ravenna. Until now he had shown 
for Stilicho the respect and confidence due to the savior 
of Rome. Stilicho had married the niece and adopted 
daughter of Theodosius, and had given his own two 
daughters successively in marriage to Honorious. It 
seemed as if his fortunes were bound up with the very 
life of the imperial family. But now, at the very mo- 



204 

merit when the only man who could hold a Roman army 
against the barbarians was more needed than ever, the 
mad folly, which was destroying the empire more surely 
than her outward enemies, drove Honorious to cause the 
murder of his faithful servant. -Some jealous rival had 
made him believe that so much power was dangerous to 
his tottering throne. 

"Alaric, away up in Illyria, knew better how to value 
the only man who had ever defeated him. The 
death of Stilicho was a signal for a new invasion. The 
Gothic leader, Christian though he was, believed him- 
self to be in the hands of Destiny. A voice, it was said, 
had come to him out of the sacred grove, saying, ' You 
will reach the city,' and he knew that the * city ' could 
be none other than Rome. The Goths, strengthened by 
their six years of rest, swept rapidly southward past 
Ravenna, where Honorius still kept his useless self, 
marched straight to Rome and began a regular siege. 
It was the first time for eight hundred years that Rome 
had seen a foreign enemy before her walls. The citi- 
zens could not yet believe that the holy city was in 
danger. Not until hunger and pestilence began to do 
their awful work did they send to ask terms of Alaric. 

"'Give me all your gold, all your silver, all your 
movables and all your barbarian slaves, or the siege 
goes on.' ? What, then, will you leave us?' 'Your 
lives.' 

" But perhaps Alaric was only in a sort of grim hu- 
mor, making fun of the half-starved ambassadors. He 
finally agreed to accept a fixed sum in gold, silver, 
silken tunics, scarlet hides, and pepper, together with 



205 

ample lands in the north of Italy. The mad young 
emperor at Ravenna, putting on a show of courage 
when it was' too late, refused to agree to these terms. 
Alaric promptly renewed the siege, but this time in 
quite a different fashion. It is as if a strange awe at 
the name of Rome held him back from actual violence. 
He was in constant negotiation with the citizens, and 
even went so far as to set up and maintain, for a few 
months, a rival emperor. He now proposed still more 
moderate terms, which. Honorius again refused. And 
the third assault on Rome began. A vigorous attack 
made a breach in the walls, and the city was in the 
hands of the enemy. It is curious to see, how, in the 
course of his long negotiation with the Romans, Alaric 
had come to be half a Roman himself. He was no 
longer a mere barbarian chieftain, eager only for a fight 
and careless of the future. He was the conqueror of 
Rome, and felt himself somehow to be thus a part of 
the wonderful civilization he saw about him. He com- 
manded his followers to respect the churches and their 
property. We have no reason to believe that the build- 
ings of the city suffered very greatly. What the Ger- 
mans wanted was movable plunder, and laden with this, 
they set out for the south of Italy. Rome, after all 
these months of famine and pestilence, was anything 
but an agreeable residence. 

" Besides, the Germans had not yet learned to live in 
cities. Their object, as shown by the frequent treaties, 
was to secure a permanent home, when they should find 
a country suited to their mind. The later historian of 
their race says that Alaric meant to conquer Sicily and 



20G 

sail over to Africa. Certainly he gathered ships at 
Rhegium, and is said to have been prevented only by a 
storm from crossing to Messina. 

" Before he could renew his preparations he died 
suddenly, the first great barbarian victim to the deadly 
climate of Italy, which was to be her best defense against 
the Northern invader. The Visigoths forced their 
Roman captives to turn the channel of the river 
Busentum, dug their leader's grave in the dry bed of 
the stream, let the waters flow back and murdered all 
who had done the work, that the burial place of Alaric 
might ever remain a mystery. 

" The capture of Rome made a deep impression upon 
the men of that day. They had been so accustomed to 
think of it as a sacred place, that the fall of the city 
seemed to them like the end of the world. 

" How much the Emperor Honorius cared for Rome 
we may judge from a story, which, whether true or not, 
shows what was thought of him at that time. An officer 
rushed into his presence, and told him that Rome had 
perished. ' What ! ' cried the Emperor, l she was feed- 
ing from my hand an hour ago.' He was much re- 
lieved when told that it was not his favorite hen 
' Roma,' but only the capital of his empire that had per- 
ished. 

" Alaric is to be remembered as the man who pointed 
out the way which so many others of his race were to 
follow. He was a great military genius, whose equal 
was not found among the man}' leaders who built upon 
his plans. We may believe that upon this last expedi- 
tion the great bulk of the property of the Visigoths had 



207 

been left behind with the women and children some- 
where in the Alpine country, and it may have been this 
which led them now to give up the African plan, and 
under the lead of Adolf, brother-in-law of Alaric, to 
march out of Italy as they had come in. 

" More and more, the distinction between Roman and 
barbarian disappears. The sister of Honorius, the beau- 
tiful and learned Placidia, taken captive in Rome, mar- 
ries the Gothic leader. Adolf brings the Visigoths back 
into the service of the empire. They pass over into 
Gaul, and thence across the Pyrenees into Spain. Al- 
ready parts of various German tribes had taken the same 
road, and were helping themselves to the lands of the 
empire on both sides of the mountains. Under Wallia, 
the successor of Adolf, the Visigoths, serving as the al- 
lies of Rome, subdued the rival invaders, and brought 
back the country for a time to the Roman allegiance. 

The Kingdom of Visigoths. — " The price of this serv- 
ice was a new and final grant of land in Spain and the 
South of Gaul, extending from the river Loire beyond 
the Pyrenees and over the greater part of the peninsula. 
Here the wanderings of the Visigoths came to an end. 
They made use of what they had learned from Rome to 
found a great and prosperous kingdom, with Toulouse as 
its capital. It was to last entire until the beginning of 
the sixth century, when the growth of the all-conquering 
Franks on the northern border reduced its Gallic portion 
to a Frankish province. The Spanish portion kept up an 
independent life, until, in the early part of the eighth 
century, the storm of the Mohammedan invasion from 
the south swept it out of existence." — Emerton. 



208 

(Stories of Vandals, Huns, and Burgundians. See 
Emerton's History, "Introduction to Middle Ages.") 

Sack of Rome by the Vandals. — The Vandals, another 
German tribe from the Baltic, had found their way 
across the Strait of Gibraltar into Africa. Gen'seric, 
their leader, founded an empire at Carthage, and they 
became a race of bold, successful pirates. They were a 
common terror to all the nations on the Mediterranean, 
plundering and destroying everywhere they went. Since 
their day, wanton destruction of property has been called 
"Vandalism." In 455 Gen'seric's ships cast anchor in 
the Tiber "and came swooping down upon the city of 
Rome from the port of Ostia, expecting to be met by an 
army of Roman youth. Instead of this there issued from 
the gates a procession of venerable clergy, led by Bishop 
Leo. The barbarian conqueror promised to spare the 
unresisting people, but for fourteen days the city was 
given over to pillage, and all that remained of Roman 
wealth, of public or private treasure, the gems of maid 
and matron, the holy decorations of the temples and al- 
tars, the crown, the purple, and the insignia of state, all 
were transported to the vessels of Gen'seric. 

"So Rome, that had robbed the world, was robbed by 
the world in the weakness begotten by the spoils of na- 
tions. The measure that she had meted was meted out 
to her again." The Roman spirit had decayed in the 
years of riches, triumph, and so-called glory. In the 
year 490, the last phantom monarch of Rome, Romulus 
Augustulus, laid down his useless scepter at the com- 
mand of Odoacer, the barbarian, who was now king of 



209 

the land of JEneas, of Romulus, Tullius, Cincinnatus, 
Regulus, and Aurelius. 

ct Prosperity bad proved fatal to Roman virtue, and 
the loss of character was a loss of spirit, and honor, and 
valor. The hardy giants of the northern lands held her 
at their mercy, and the Queen of Empires, after all her 
triumphs, grovelled now at the barbarians' chariot 
wheels . ' ' — Buttemvorth . 



ROME. 

LORD BYROX. 

The Niobe of nations ! there she stands, 

Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe, 
An empty urn within her withered hands, 

Whose holy dust was scattered long ago : 
The Scipios' tomb contains no ashes now, 

The very sepulchers lie tenantless 
Of their heroic dwellers : dost thou flow, 

O Tiber, through a marble wilderness ? 

Rise, with thy yellow waves, and mantle her distress. 

The Goth, the Christian, Time, War, Flood, and Fire, 
Have dealt upon the seven-hilled city's pride ; 

She saw her glories star by star expire, 

And up the steep barbarian monarchs ride, 

Where the car climbed the Capitol ; far and wide 
Temple and tower went down, nor left a site: — 

Chaos of ruins! who shall trace the void, 
O'er the dim fragments cast a lunar light, 
And say, " here was, or is," where all is doubly night ? 

The double night of ages, and of her, 

Night's daughter, Ignorance, hath wrapt and wrap 
All round us ; we but feel our way to err : 

The ocean hath his chart, the stars their map, 



210 

And Knowledge spreads them on her ample lap; 
But Rome is as the desert, where we steer 

Stumbling o'er recollections; now we clap 
Our hands, and cry " Eureka! " it is clear — 
When but some false mirage of ruin rises near. 

Alas ! the lofty city ! and alas ! 

The trebly hundred triumphs ! and the day 
When Brutus made the dagger's edge surpass 

The conqueror's sword, in bearing Fame away! 
Alas, for Tully's voice aud Virgil's \ay, 

And Livy's pictured page! — but these shall be 
Her resurrection ; all beside — decay, 

Alas for Earth, for never shall we see 

That brightness in her eye she bore when Rome was free ! 






LIST OF WORKS 

Which, by kind* permission of the publishers or authors (where copyright 
is in force), are quoted from or referred to in this work. 



Lew Wallace's " Ben Hur," published by Harper & Brothers. 
P. U. N. Myers' "'Eastern Countries and Greece" and "Ancient His- 
tory," published by Ginn & Co. 
Charlotte Yonge's " Young Folks' History of Greece/' by Estes and 

Lauriat. 
S. G. Goodrich's "English History," by E. H. Butler & Co. 
W. C. Bryant's poems of "The Ages" and "Forest Hymn," by D. 

Appleton & Co. 
Allen's "Short History of the Roman People," by Ginn & Co. 
Butterworth's " Little Arthur's History of Rome," by Thomas Y. 

Crowell & Co. 
Emerton's " Introduction to Middle Ages," by Ginn & Co. 
Dr. Goldsmith's "History of Greece," by Thomas Cowperthwait & 

Co. 1841. 
Quackenbos' " School History of the World," by D. Appleton & Co. 

1876. 
"Plutarch's Lives." 

Edith Ralph's "Step by Step Through the Bible." 
Gibbon's " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." 
Goodrich's "Roman History." 
Charles Dickens' "Child's History of England." 
Mary Ford's " Child's History of Rome." 
Peter Parley's " Cabinet Library." (1849.) 
Barnes' "General History." 
Mahaffy's " History of Civilization." 
Niebuhr's " Stories of Greece." 
Bulfinch's Mythology. 
Guerber's "Greek Stories." 
Francillon's "Gods and Heroes." 
Brook's "Iliad" and "Odyssey." 
Lamb's "Adventure of Ulysses." 
Cox's Mythology. . . 

Church's "Stories of Homer." 
Kingsley's "Greek Heroes." 

Butterworth's "Zigzag Journeys," by Estes & Lauriat. 
Lydia Hoyt Farmer's " Boys' Book "of Famous Rulers," by T. Y. 

Crowell & Co. 
Henry A. Ford's "Poems of History." 
Poems from Bvroii, Bryant, Macaulay, Cowper 
" Life of Paul," from Bible. 
Encyclopedia Britannica. 



/ 



3/f? 



1 J. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: g^p - 2001 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 



